Tanzania has proven natural gas reserves of about 57.54 trillion cubic feet (TCF), with at least 86.1% of these reserves located far offshore in the Indian Ocean. The Ministry of Energy of Tanzania first announced its intention to develop an LNG plant in Tanzania in the year 2014.
With several stakeholders on this from Tanzania Petroleum Development Corporation (TPDC), the Government of Tanzania together with several international energy giants headed by Equinor and Shell.
Preceding surveys & feasibility of an extensive site selection process, Likong’o-Mchinga located in the Lindi region was identified as the home LNG plant. With a digital twin and 3D model developed by Shell which has been on display for various exhibitions from Tanzania Energy Congress 2022 to the SabaSaba International Trade Fair of 2023.
LNG is an abbreviation standing for Liquefied Natural Gas. Liquefaction is a process by which Natural Gas is converted to Liquid phase for ease and bulky transportation. LNG is attained when the Natural Gas is cooled to -162°C (Cryogenic temperature). 1 unit of LNG is equivalent to 600 units of Natural gas i.e., reduce football pitch to the size of a football.
The Liquefaction process is a series of steps from
- Pretreatment/Processing where the natural gas is stripped of its impurities such as H2O, CO2, H2S, and other heavy hydrocarbons to prevent freezing and/or corrosion during liquefaction.
- Cooling and Liquefaction which utilizes multi-stage refrigeration systems known as trains cooling the gas down to cryogenic temperatures and then compressing the gas to LNG.
Figure 1: LNG Process (source: https://kiangroup.net/what-is-liquefied-natural-gas-lng/ )
- Storage and Transport. LNG is stored in cryogenic tanks while on site waiting to be transported to the end point. Due to these low temperatures transportation is carried in double-wall insulated tanks/vessels to maintain the temperature.
Figure 2: LNG Carries.
- Upon arrival at the destination, the LNG is regasified to bring it back to its natural gaseous state for use and consumption.
 ).)
Figure 3: Regasification Process
Tanzania’s LNG project, also known as the Likong’o-Mchinga Liquefied Natural Gas Project (LMLNGP) has a budget of USD 40 billion to date.
LNG has proven to be the fastest-increasing demanded fossil fuel in the world energy market due to its low carbon dioxide emission, high energy density, and ease of transport. Thus, this marks a great window opportunity to alter the country’s energy movement towards the clean energy initiative.
