Barclays Accused of Bias On East Africa Crude Oil Pipeline - Bloomberg

Barclays Accused of Bias on East Africa Crude Oil Pipeline - Bloomberg 11/05/2023 07:16
Green
ESG
Barclays Analysts Hit by Bias Claim

in Report About Controversial
Pipeline
Climate and social justice groups are increasingly targeting
banks that support fossil-fuel projects.
Students protest for the EU to retract their concerns over the East Africa Crude Oil Pipeline project in
Kampala. Photographer: Luke Dray/Getty Images
By Alastair Marsh
10 May 2023 at 01:00 GMT-4
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2023-05-10/barclays-accus…frica-crude-oil-pipeline?leadSource=uverify%20wall&sref=tEHt46mu Page 1 of 6
A group of nonprofits is pushing Barclays Plc to retract an analyst research

note they claim amounts to a “whitewash” of the environmental and social
impact of an African oil pipeline being developed by companies
including TotalEnergies SE.
More than 40 environmental and social justice groups wrote last month

to the bank’s chief executive officer, C.S. Venkatakrishnan, asking him to
rescind a note on the East Africa Crude Oil Pipeline project that they said was
“highly unprofessional, biased and damaging to Barclays’ reputation.” In
a March 20 report, six Barclays energy analysts, led by Lydia Rainforth, said
that while legitimate environmental and human rights concerns have been
raised about the pipeline, these were mostly exaggerated or misguided.
“Asking for a retraction is certainly an unusual tactic and one I have never
seen deployed before, but I have to question if it’s the best approach,” said
Alex Bibani, a senior portfolio manager at Allianz Global Investors in
London. “Research like this highlights important problems, gives them
greater prominence and allows investors to engage with the companies
building the pipeline.”
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EACOP is expected to carry oil 900 miles from the fields of western Uganda
to the coast of Tanzania. Environmentalists claim the pipeline

will endanger wildlife, displace local communities and increase carbon
emissions. A campaign has persuaded numerous banks and insurers to
withhold support for the pipeline.
Barclays isn’t among the banks that are financing the $5 billion project. But it
does have a research arm with analysts who write reports on TotalEnergies,
the main developer of EACOP. After a recent trip to Uganda, a team of those
analysts said they were “reassured” the EACOP project won’t be as damaging
as critics maintain.
“The social and environmental complexities involved in this project are

significant, but based on observations during our visit, we find
TotalEnergies to be implementing its plans according to the highest
standards set by regulators and stakeholders,” the analysts wrote. “We
therefore believe that many of the voiced concerns either overstate the
impact, neglect to take into account the mediations put in place, or are
misplaced or based on inaccurate information.”
A spokeswoman for Barclays said “the views expressed in any Barclays

Research publication are solely and exclusively those of the authoring
analysts and don’t reflect the view of the Barclays Group.” She declined to
comment on whether the report would be retracted.
Rainforth, the report’s lead analyst, also declined to comment. Rainforth also

covers BP Plc and Shell Plc. She has an “overweight” rating for TotalEnergies
and expects the stock to outperform, according to data compiled by
Bloomberg.
In a 34-page write-up of their Uganda trip, the analysts said the travel and

itinerary had been arranged independently, and that they were seeking to
evaluate the situation on the ground and look into reports of human rights

and environmental violations. They met with NGOs, the Uganda National Oil
Company, TotalEnergies’ project management team, people directly
affected by the pipeline and resettlement specialists.
In the report, the Barclays team explained why they felt the environmental

damage may not be as bad as feared. For example, the wetlands — dug up to
lay pipes — would grow back quickly, they said. TotalEnergies also
had committed to following international biodiversity conservation
standards to minimize and avoid damage and compensate for any impacts to
critical habitats, the analysts said. And the French company is planning
to make the project “biodiversity-positive” by restoring 1,000 hectares of
forest for chimpanzee habitats and the wetlands in the Victoria Nile delta,
they said.
Rainforth and her team also said that reports suggesting 100,000 people
would be negatively impacted by the project obscured the true picture.
While that number of people do own assets such as farms or grazing land
along the EACOP route, the “vast majority” of them will be able to use their
property after the project is completed since 80% of the pipeline will be
under ground, according to the Barclays report. The number of people who
will have to relocate as a result of a land acquisition program for the pipeline
and associated oil field development will be far lower than 100,000 and
closer to 19,000, the analysts said.
The nonprofits that wrote to Barclays’ CEO are based mostly in Uganda,
Tanzania and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. They take a different
view. In their letter, they suggested that oil analysts are ill-suited to
providing expertise on social or environmental matters. They said the
Barclays report merely parroted many of TotalEnergies’ talking points.
The report “is neither an independent nor a serious investigation of the

facts,” the nonprofits wrote in their letter.
Banks' role in financing carbon-polluting projects is an increasing area

of focus for climate activists. The campaign against EACOP has so far resulted
in about 25 major banks, including most recently Standard Chartered Plc,
which have said they won’t support the project.
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Barclays Accused of Bias on East Africa Crude Oil Pipeline - Bloomberg 11/05/2023 07:16

Barclays Analysts Hit by Bias Claim

A group of nonproﬁts is pushing Barclays Plc to retract an analyst research

More than 40 environmental and social justice groups wrote last month

Biden’s Plan to Cut Planet-Warming Pollution Spares Most Gas Plants

Climate and War Send Nuclear Fuel Orders Surging at Urenco

Cyclone Mocha to Intensify and Move Toward Bangladesh, Myanmar

to the coast of Tanzania. Environmentalists claim the pipeline

“The social and environmental complexities involved in this project are

A spokeswoman for Barclays said “the views expressed in any Barclays

Rainforth, the report’s lead analyst, also declined to comment. Rainforth also

In a 34-page write-up of their Uganda trip, the analysts said the travel and

evaluate the situation on the ground and look into reports of human rights

In the report, the Barclays team explained why they felt the environmental

The report “is neither an independent nor a serious investigation of the

Banks' role in ﬁnancing carbon-polluting projects is an increasing area

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