Mtwara Oil and Gas Waste Recycling Plant Set For Expansion

The oil and gas waste recycling plant in Mdgena - the first of its kind in East Africa and presently the only registered waste treatment site in Tanzania - is scheduled for expansion this year in order to meet increasing demand.   The plant, operated by Supply Base Solutions, has specialized equipment to process both household and drilling solid and liquid waste and will include in its expansion additional warehouses, incinerators, and waste handling equipment. USD 2.5 million has thus far been invested in the plant, and another USD 2.0 million will be invested in the expansion project before the end of this year. As explained by Alpha Group Managing Director, Ganeshan Vedagiri, "The expansion is meant to enable us meet growing demand.” Assistant Waste Facility Manager, Joseph Wandiba further explains, "We started as a small company dealing with Statoil but now we are handling waste from more international oil companies (IOCs)….Most of these waste products are from drilled holes offshore which are mostly sludge which is complicated to recycle.” The IOCs which use the facility are backing the expansion due to the difficulty of disposing of offshore drilling waste and the need for specialized facilities. BG Tanzania, for example, stated in a recent press release, "When we entered Tanzania, we recognized this as an issue for the management of waste generated by our operations in the Mtwara port and, with other oil and gas companies operating out of the port, took steps to develop a solution.We contracted Supply Base Solutions and identified IVE Design, a specialist environmental consultancy, to provide technical support.” BG Tanzania also brought in the Nature Group to process light liquid waste generated on rigs and drill cuttings.