Measures mooted to avert electricity woes in Dar

DAILY NEWS Reporter

THE government has averted a possible power crisis in Dar es Salaam, by contracting the Tanzania International Petroleum Reserves Limited (TIPER) to store condensates from the Songosongo gas mines in its tanks.

Condensates are a low-density mixture of hydrocarbon liquids that are present as gaseous components in the raw natural gas produced from many natural gas fields.

The Tiper Managing Director, Mr Stephane Gay confirmed in an interview yesterday that the Tanzania Petroleum Development Corporation (TPDC) had approached Tiper in an emergency to receive and store the condensates produced in the Songosongo gas field.

“We have so far received a full cargo of 646 tons, equivalent to 820 m3 of condensates, and expect a new delivery between August and September this year,” said Mr Gay. Songosongo produces about seven barrels, equivalent to 1.1 m3 a day, against a storage capacity limited to a few hundreds of m3.

The move comes after the Energy and Water Utilities Regulatory Authority (EWURA), at the request of TPDC, had already inspected and approved a dedicated tank of 2,200 m3 for storing the condensates.

According to experts’ point of view, if the products are not removed from the production site, they would have affected the gas production and this would have affected power generation in Dar es Salaam.

The Songosongo gas field is located on and offshore Songosongo island, about 15 km from the Tanzanian mainland and 200 km south of Dar es Salaam.

The project serves two onshore and three offshore natural gas wells at the island, with the gas from the wells being piped to a plant on the island.