Africa has a number of significant pipeline projects in various stages of development as the demand for fuels increases and countries look to collaborate for a more secure and diverse energy supply.
Branching out - pipeline expansion in East Africa
East Africa Community permanent secretary, David Nalo, recently revealed construction will soon begin on a 550 km pipeline linking Dar-es-Salaam-Tanga in Tanzania and Mombasa in Kenya to boost supplies of cooking gas.
Commenting on the plans at a summit earlier in the year, Patrick Nyoike, the permanent secretary in Kenya’s Ministry of Energy, noted: "It is expected the project will contribute to the reduction of energy costs and shield power generation from variability of weather and international crude oil prices.
Projects like this are being spurred on by the discovery of large quantities of natural gas in East Africa. Seven fields have now been discovered offshore Tanzania, with more than 50 hydrocarbon fields at various stages of development, All Africa reported.
Work is also currently being undertaken on the development of a pipeline between Kigali, the capital of Rwanda, and Bujumbura, the capital of Burundi.
The African Development Bank is currently funding a feasibility study into developing this section of the pipeline, which would be a continuation of the already operational structure between Eldoret in Kenya to Kampala, Uganda's capital city.
Nyoike said: "The plan is to link Kigali by a pipeline from Kampala, which will allow petroleum products to be accessed from the planned refinery in Uganda, as well as the existing refinery in Mombasa and international markets."
Pipeline security and the scourge of third party intervention
All of these projects will require serious consideration in the one area that continues to cost companies operating in Africa big money – security.
Pipelines in Africa are subject to the same operational risks as those in Europe, the United States and Asia, but also happen to be situated on a continent where the oil and gas industry struggles with the incursion of third party intervention on a daily basis.
Crude oil theft and illegal refining in the Imo River region of Nigeria lost the joint venture between Shell and Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation over $166 million (£106 million) in the two months between September and November, Business Day reported.
An upsurge in acts of sabotage caused the eventual shut down of the field, leading to the calling of Force Majeure on exports from the region.
