Tanzania’s TPDC upbeat on gas pipeline

The over 530-kilometre gas pipeline linking the gas-rich southern region of Mtwara and the port city of Dar es Salaam will start by transporting 210 million standard cubic feet (mmscfd) daily when it is commissioned in December, this year.

In an interview with the ‘Daily News,’ the Tanzania Petroleum Development Corporation (TPDC) spokesperson, Mr Sebastian Shana, pointed out that since the completion of the work on the laying of the pipeline is scheduled for the beginning of December, the three gas plants would be commissioned at the end of the month.

“The pipeline will first tap from the three wells in Mtwara, with each giving 210mmscfd,” he said. The major domestic gas production and transportation project will likely transform the country’s economy, economists predict.

The pipeline begins its route from Madimba village in Mtwara Rural District and Songo Songo in Kilwa District to Dar es Salaam. The village has the capacity to produce 210mmscfd of gas per day.

Latest documents released by TPDC in Dar es Salaam showed that Songo Songo has the capacity to produce 140mmscfd per day, with the new pipeline planned to have the capacity to transport 784 cubic feet of gas per day, which will generate 3,920 mw of electricity.

The country’s current demand for electricity is 720mw per day. By generating 3,920MW through domestic gas reserves, the country would have a surplus of more than 3,000mw.

“Savings from low cost gas power generation would be passed on to industrial and other users, raising Tanzania’s competitiveness and growth prospects,” the documents further show.

They also show that the pipeline’s distance from Madimba-Mtwara to Somanga Fungu is 290km while from Somanga Fungu to Kinyerezi – Kipenyo, the distance is 197km. The distance from Songo Songo to Somanga Fungu is 25km while 30km links Kinyerezi and Tegeta in Dar es Salaam.

Mr Shana said that as of yesterday, some 11 containers of pipes had arrived in Mtwara and Dar es Salaam, putting the total number of pipes already received at 46,693 for 557km thus far.

He added that already, 499km of the pipe have been laid out, which is 99 per cent of the entire length. IMF country reports have noted that with the construction of the natural gas pipeline, savings from low cost gas power generation would be passed on to industrial and other users, raising the country’s competitiveness and growth prospects.

The reports show that the construction of the 1.92tril/- pipeline shall have broader economic benefits as a shift to low cost gas power generation will reduce electricity tariffs.