Kenya, Tanzania To Construct Natural Gas Pipeline
The US$1.1 billion pipeline will run between Dar es Salaam and Mombasa.
Kenya will soon begin construction on the Mtwara to Dar es Salaam Natural Gas Pipeline Project extension from Tanzania’s city of Dar es Salaam to Kenya's coastal city of Mombasa and finally through to Nairobi. Kenyan President William Ruto confirmed this development.
The Mtwara to Dar es Salaam Natural Gas Pipeline currently transports natural gas from Tanzania’s natural gas fields in Mnazi Bay, Mtwara Region, to Dar es Salaam. The pipeline is 542 kilometres long and has a maximum diameter of 36 inches. Tanzania Petroleum Development Corporation operates the pipeline constructed by China Petroleum and Technology Development Company (CPTDC).
President William Ruto held bilateral talks with Tanzanian President Samia Suluhu on his first visit to Tanzania as President of Kenya in October this year. During the visit, President Ruro emphasized the importance of the project in lowering energy tariffs in the industrial sector and energy costs for the local population.
Tanzania-Kenya media briefing, State House, Dar es Salam, Tanzania https://t.co/1OW2AfthKp
— William Samoei Ruto, PhD (@WilliamsRuto) October 10, 2022
The former President of Kenya, Uhuru Kenyatta, signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on Cooperation in Natural Gas Transportation in May 2021. Kenyatta said at the time, “We have agreed on the need to ease the transportation of key energy resources, and we have reached one such understanding on the transportation of gas. What we need to do now is start implementing the project.”
The signing was a joint effort by the countries to strengthen ties and share energy resources. The MoU allowed each nation’s energy ministries to begin talks on the design, cost, and logistical issues related to the pipeline.
Tanzania holds about 57 trillion cubic feet of natural gas. The plan is to send most of the offshore gas to an upcoming liquefied natural gas plant at Lindi — proposed by Shell and Equinor. Some of the gas would be used onshore for domestic purposes.
Top Photo: Gas pipeline on countryside road (Wirestock | Dreamstime)
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