Tanzania-Uganda gas pipeline plan to kick off in 3 years

The Tanzania Petroleum Development Corp is confident a natural-gas pipeline to Uganda will start in 2021, according to acting Managing Director Kapuulya Musomba.

At least 29 companies have shown interest in conducting a feasibility study and constructing the pipeline that will pump gas to western Uganda to power iron and steel factories, Musomba said in an interview in Tanzania’s commercial hub, Dar es Salaam. He did not provide any names.

Conduct study

“We expect the feasibility study to be concluded by June next year,” he said on the sidelines of an oil and gas conference. Funding will be sought in 2019 and 2020 and then construction will start in 2021,” said Mr Musomba.

TPDC set an August 24 deadline for submission of tender documents to conduct the study. Tanzania and Uganda have already signed an agreement for the pipeline that will start in Dar es Salaam through Tanga port on the Indian Ocean and Mwanza, a port city on Lake Victoria, before crossing to Uganda.

The two nations plan a separate pipeline to transport Uganda’s crude oil to Tanga port. Tanzania is positioning itself to become an energy hub within a decade and plans to supply gas, of which it has about 57 trillion cubic feet of proven reserves, to other east African nations.

“About 10 to 15 regions in East Africa will benefit from the pipeline that will also serve as a catalyst for oil and gas exploration,” Musomba said.