Tanzania: Songas Increases Output to Meet Growing Demand

Tanzania Daily News (Dar es Salaam)

Abduel Elinaza

14 July 2011

ORCA Exploration Group has signed an agreement with Songas to increase the capacity of the Songo Songo gas fields following high demand of the commodity for generating electricity.

The company said mid this week that the plan is to increase processing output from 90 to 110 millions of cubic feet per day (MMcfd).

This, according to Orca, will increase the overall infrastructure capacity that processes and transports gas to Dar es Salaam to 105 million cubic feet per day.

“With this higher system capacity the company expects that Orca’s additional gas sales will increase to an average of approximately 45 to 50 million cubic feet per day from 1 July 2011 compared with an average of 37 million cubic feet in 2010,” the company said in the statement.

The company said that the move has a beneficial impact on cash flow. “This increase in additional gas production capacity is available for urgently needed power generation in Tanzania,” Orca said.

The April and May long rains failed to replenish the reservoirs that the country depends on to generate up to 550 megawatts using the hydro power plants.. As a consequence of rain shortfall, the installed hydro power capacity has been reduced and an increase in reservoir levels is not expected until the short rains expected at the end of the year.

To address this shortfall, TANESCO recently re-commissioned a 112 MW gas fired power plant in Dar es Salaam owned and operated by Symbion Power.

“This will increase the total generation potentially consuming additional gas to 301 MWs (or approximately 66 MMcfd at peak load),” the company based in British Virgin Islands said.

Further additions to the country’s generating capacity are scheduled for next year, when Jacobsen Elektro installed a new 105 MW plant with maximum capacity of 22 MMCfd in Dar es Salaam.

The plant is expected to start generating power in the first quarter of next year. In addition, Songas is making good progress with its expansion project to further increase Songo Songo infrastructure capacity to 140 MMcfd by the first quarter in 2013.

Orca is an international public company engaged in hydrocarbon exploration, development and supply of natural gas in the country. Orca Exploration is also involved in natural gas exploration, development and supply in the country and the development of a coastal pipeline gas network in East Africa.

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