Tanzania’s natural gas industry has grown significantly, reaffirming its position as an essential part of the country’s energy mix and a major force behind economic growth.
The generation from gas-fired plants has been revealed by the Energy and Water Utilities Regulatory Authority (EWURA). The amount of natural gas supplied in 2022–2023 was 81,067.15 million standard cubic feet (MMscf), up 11.77 percent over the year before.
Despite being significant, this growth rate was less than the 33.73 percent increase that was seen between 2020–2021 and 2022–2023.
Data from the government indicates that the number of natural gas users is still growing. Between 2022 and 2023, there were 1,514 households linked to the natural gas system, up from 970 in 2022–2022, and 52–54 companies.
Its financial year 2022–2023 regulatory performance report, which outlines the industry’s advancements, difficulties, and potential. The study highlights a notable increase in the supply and use of natural gas, which is being fueled by more electricity, increased industrial expansion, more household connections, and a surge in compressed natural gas (CNG) cars.
There were three CNG filling stations and one customer each in the business and institutional sectors, which remained unaltered.
The increase in household connections was ascribed by EWURA Director General Dr. James Mwainyekule to government initiatives aimed at enhancing public access to natural gas. Natural gas processing facilities demonstrated exceptional performance, with high rates of capacity utilisation and availability.
The M&P gas processing plant had an availability rate of 99.89%, whereas the Tanzania Petroleum Development Corporation (TPDC) Madimba gas processing plant attained 100%. The availability rates at the Songo Songo and Songas processing facilities were 98.07 percent and 97.87 percent, respectively.
Even with these elevated rates of availability, the overall capacity utilisation still below 50%, suggesting that there is room for further production to keep up with the increasing demand.
The government and PT ESSA Industris Indonesia Tbk have inked a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to create a 1.3 billion US dollar fertiliser manufacturing plant that will convert natural gas into urea. This is a huge development.
The project will be located in the Mtwara Region and is anticipated to start operations in 2029. It is being built by TPDC, the Tanzania Fertilizer Regulation Authority (TFRA), and the Tanzania Investment Centre (TIC).
The investor has been encouraged to accelerate building by Prof. Kitila Mkumbo, Minister in the President’s Office for Planning and Investment.
A big natural gas refilling station will be developed in collaboration with the private sector, according to proposals announced by Dr. James Mataragio, Deputy Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Energy. One station is planned to compress three million cubic feet of natural gas each day.
The goal of this program is to greatly expand the industrial and automotive industries.
Improvements in environmental and safety compliance were noted in the EWURA report, with adherence rates increasing from 94% to 95%.
The authority emphasized how crucial it is that investors continue to abide by state regulations. The industry’s financial results were encouraging, as revenue from regulated firms climbed by 20% while costs increased by a mere 7%. This indicates improved profitability and efficiency.
Significant accounts receivable problems were also mentioned in the study, with certain firms experiencing delays in payment collections.
