Tanzania LNG Expansion

Tanzania opened a $344 million, 167.82-megawatt natural gas plant outside of the capital, Dar es Salaam. It has been a turning point for the country to move toward industrialization.

The plant is running at full capacity, it is the first stage into the transformation of the country economy to become by 2025 an industrial powerhouse.

With a population of 54 million, with a constant demand for power and just 1,400 MW of installed grid capacity. The majority of the Tanzania’s energy was coming from hydropower but with droughts frequent shortage of power happened.

With the Kinyerezi II natural gas plant and the massive hydropower generation that was projected to start construction last year to be completed by 2021. Both systems will provide the stability for power while the country is continuing to develop but also might sell off their surplus of energies to other countries.

Sumitomo Corp a Japanese company constructed the new natural gas plant. Economically wise it is going to pay off by successfully moving their initiative by money-saving initiatives.

Tanzania is moving away from importing fossil fuels to focusing on developing their own natural gas reserves, a $4 billion cost saving between 2015 and 2017. It also saved another $6,5 billion in 2015 from a shift from HFO and diesel.

Tanzania is currently in negotiation for developing a $30 billion liquefied natural gas project between April and September per the Energy Ministry.

Negotiations between the government and international oil companies have failed.

Equinor, Royal Dutch Sheel and Ophir Energy are still in talks with the Energy Minister Medard Kalemani.

The President John Magufuli of Tanzania said he would pursue partnerships that enable his nation to benefit more from its resources. The country has an estimated 58 trillion cu ft of natural gas reserves.