Natural gas pipeline under consideration

Arusha, Tanzania — ESI-AFRICA.COM — 24 January 2011 – The East African Community (EAC) has revealed that it is discussing the possibility of constructing a pipeline to carry natural gas from Tanzania to the various other members of the bloc.

The proposed pipeline would transport the fuel north from Tanzania’s commercial hub of Dar es Salaam to the Kenyan port city of Mombasa, the EAC said in an e- mailed statement from its headquarters here. The group’s other members are Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda and Burundi.

The statement added that Danish engineering consultants COWI A/S began assessing the cost and environmental impact of the proposed pipeline last July, using a US$561 700 grant from the Tunis-based African Development Bank.

“Recent discoveries of natural gas off the coast of Tanzania have taken the country’s total reserves to 7.5 trillion cubic feet “’ sufficient to allow exports to the region,” the statement continued. It did not provide more details.

“There are two gas deposits in commercial production in Tanzania. Songo Songo holds 1.5 trillion cubic feet of gas, while the Mnazi Bay field, near the border with Mozambique, has 2 trillion cubic feet,” said Tanzania Petroleum Development Corporation director of exploration Halfani R. Halfani.

Halfani wasn’t reachable for further comment in five calls by Bloomberg News  to his mobile phone.