Writes Leo Odera Omolo
AN Irish construction firm and civil engineering company, Castle town Enterprises has expressed interests in constructing of new pipeline to transport natural gas from the Songo Songo gas field to the capital Dar Es Salaam.
Information emerging from Dar says the project is intended to add 200 megawatts{MW} of electricity to the national grid.
The Chief Executive Officer of the firm Mr Charlie Mc Cauley told newsmen in Dar Es Salaam last week that his firm also plans to build and operate a 200 MW open cycle gas fired power plant that could be expanded to 500 MW in the future.
Tanzania’s Minister for Energy and Minerals William Ngeleja said this project comes as good news to Tanzania which has been grappling with power shortage and that the government has already replied to the Castle town Enterprises Limited inviting the firm to open negotiations with both Tanzania Electricity Supplies Company {TANESCO} and Tanzania Petroleum Development Corporation{TPDC}.
McCauley said Castletown Enterprises has approached the government and hoped to enter into a memorandum of understanding {MOU} to formalize relationship., and enable the firm to begin the required task.
If the deal is approved, the planned pipeline would be the second to carry natural gas from Songo Songo field 200 kilometers south of the commercial City of Dar Es Salaam to the Ubungo power plant.
Songas Limited owns and operates the first pipeline which was completed in 2004.And according to Minister Ngeleja,it took least a year to lay the existing gas pipeline “and to be laid by Castletown would take much shorter period of time because they won’t necessarily have to start creating new leeway and the current is 60 meters wide, which is big enough to accommodate anther pipeline.”
The Northern Irish company, which is located in Limvady near Belfast, is to discuss the best possible location for the new power plant with TANESCO officials”, he added.
“The two groups will have to sit down and jointly decide where to put up the new plant because TANESCO being the country’s electricity supplier, will play a bigger role in making sure the project comes on board in the shortest possible period of time,” he said, adding that “It is not in their interest as well that the generation of 200MW gets into the national grid sooner than later given the crisis that we have been going through.”
The government said the new pipeline is expected to be bigger than the current one, which has a diameter of16 mm. The one Castletown wants to construct would at least 24mm in diameter.
According to the Tanzania Petroleum Development Corporation {TPDC}, a second pipeline is needed because the existing one cannot accommodate any more users unless capacity at the supply side is increased.
Songas Limited has already applied to the Energy and Water Utilities Regulatory Authority {EWURA} for tariff adjustment so that it can begin increasing the output of natural gas from Songo Songo.
Tanzania has gas reserves at Songo Songo,Mnazi Bay, and Mkuranga. Gas from Songo Songo and Mnazi Bay is used to generate power and some supplied to the industries in Dar Es Salaam, while a lesser amount is converted compressed natural gas{CNG} to power motor vehicles.
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