THE Tanzania Petroleum Development Corporation (TPDC) is
drafting a master plan for setting up infrastructure to supply natural gas to
industries and houses in some regions.
Available statistics indicate this country currently uses
just a tiny fraction of the resource -- 70 million cubic feet out of the total
capacity of 784 million cubic feet of the gas – from Mtwara and Songo Songo, a
mere ten per cent that currently goes into power generation
to some industries.
TPDC Acting Managing Director Eng. Kapuulya Musomba says
that the envisaged infrastructure would facilitate better and cost-effective
supply of gas.
“The plan is to have the infrastructure which will
attract new industries … (because) … the real challenge is many of the existing
factories are scattered,” he explained.
Musomba made his remarks in response to queries by
members of parliamentary budget committee who visited the natural gas receiving
plants -- Kinyerezi I and Kinyerezi II gas-fired power generation plants.
The legislators led by committee chairperson Ms Hawa
Ghasia had challenged TPDC “to scale-up” its pace of distributing gas to
factories to support the government’s industrialization plan.
“My committee will tour the entire route of the gas
pipeline .. all the way from Mtwara … (in order) to identify key projects along
the line,” Ms Ghasia explained.
Earlier, deputy Minister for Energy and Minerals Dr
Medard Kalemani informed the MPs that 37 factories had since been connected to
gas, and that plans were underway to connect an additional 40 industries.
“ … we have 57.3 trillion cubic feet of gas reserves …
this is more than enough power to meet domestic and industrial demand,” Dr
Kalemani explained.
The deputy minister further explained that execution of
the four phases at Kinyerezi would produce over 1,175MW of electricity through
natural gas.
At Kinyerezi II power plant, a project manager assured
the MPs that 30MW of the 240MW would be fed into the national grid by next
December.
Source: Dail News TZ