The Mtwara–Dar es Salaam Natural Gas Pipeline (MDNGP) is a pipeline that transports natural gas from Tanzania's natural gas fields in Mnazi Bay, Mtwara Region to Dar es Salaam.
Location The pipeline starts in Madimba Village, in Mtwara Region, in southeastern Tanzania, and runs in a northerly direction, through Somanga, in Lindi Region, to end at Dar es Salaam, Tanzania's largest city, a total distance of approximately .
Background As of October 2015, Tanzania's total electricity generation capacity stood at 1,500 MW. In 2014, hydro-power generation represented 33 percent of total capacity. Due to prolonged drought, hydro turned out to be an unreliable power source for the country. In order to diversify the national energy pool, and to take advantage of the vast natural gas resources onshore and offshore in the Mtwara and Lindi regions, a natural gas pipeline was designed and constructed, to deliver the natural gas to Dar es Salaam for use in power generation, industrial applications, household cooking and in propulsion of transport vehicles.
Technical details The main pipeline from Madimba in Mtwara Region, to Dar es Salaam, measures in diameter. At Somanga, in Lindi Region, the main pipeline is joined by a smaller pipeline delivering natural gas from Songo Songo Island. Both processing plants, one in Madimba and the other in Songo Songo, are two trains (processing units) each, and together are capable of processing of natural gas every 24 hours.
Construction, funding and time table The construction contract was awarded to China Petroleum and Technology Development Company, a subsidiary of China National Petroleum Company, with a US$1.225 billion concessional loan from Exim Bank of China. The Tanzania Petroleum Development Corporation invested US$274.492 million into the project. Construction began in June 2013, with commissioning in October 2015. The contract included the construction of the two-train gas processing plant in Madimba Village, Mtwara Region.
See also Tanesco Tanzania Liquefied Natural Gas Project Tanzania Petroleum Development Corporation List of power stations in Tanzania Uganda–Tanzania Crude Oil Pipeline
References
External links Tanzania launches project to pipe natural gas to capital