Page 12 - AfrOil Week 30 2021

AfrOil POLICY AfrOil

Emuh acknowledged that all of parties involved and other issues in the communities … The gov-
were “suffering.” But he also said: “[We] must ernment should continue to support the oil and
appreciate what the ninth National Assembly gas communities in order to sustain peace and
has done. The creation of a special fund for stabilise petroleum operations. The operators
oil and gas communities will go a long way in should also continue to do more for the com-
addressing the injustice.” munities as their immediate hosts while the
He added: “[The] PIB has become a reality. community should be united as well as bring
We are hopeful that the provisions in the bill their expertise to bear in achieving sustainable
[will] go a long way to addressing environmental development.” ™

Tanzania discusses efforts to promote

and expand domestic CNG consumption

TANZANIA TANZANIA’S government is taking steps to
promote and expand domestic consumption of
CNG and has allocated TZS30bn ($12.937mn)
in budget funds for this purpose in 2021.
According to Energy Minister Medard Kale-
mani, these funds may be used to support driv-
ers who opt to convert their automobile engines
to burn CNG instead of petroleum-based fuels.
The Energy Ministry is trying to work with ser-
vice providers to reduce the price of the engine
conversion process, he was quoted as saying by
The EastAfrican newspaper.
“We have two stations that provide such ser-
vice of converting vehicles from diesel and pet-
rol fuel to national gas use at the University of Tanzania’s Songo Songo gas plant (Photo: FAR)
Dar es Salaam and at the Dar es Salaam Institute
of Technology,” he noted. “I am asking the two power plants (TPPs) and industrial and man-
stations in collaboration with Tanzania Petro- ufacturing facilities, as well as households. To
leum Development Corp. [TPDC] to revisit date, though, only 3,000 households in Mtwara,
prices for converting vehicles to CNG use.” Lindi and Dar es Salaam have begun using CNG
The cost of converting a gasoline or die- as fuel. Nevertheless, there are 701 CNG-fuelled
sel-powered engine to CNG currently stands at cars on the road in Dar es Salaam.
around TZS1.0-1.5mn ($431-647), Kalemani The Energy Ministry would like to see CNG
noted. consumption rise for at least two reasons. On the
He also indicated that the CNG programme one hand, greater use of CNG would reduce the
fell within the framework of ongoing efforts to country’s petroleum product import bill, which
expand the use of gas within Tanzania. came to nearly TZS2.9 trillion in 2020. On the
The East African country already makes use other hand, this shift would help reduce green-
of natural gas, delivering domestic production house gas (GHG) emissions, as CNG is a clean-
from Songo Songo and other fields to thermal er-burning fuel than diesel or gasoline. ™

PROJECTS & COMPANIES
Sapref resumes Durban operations

EGYPT THE South African Petroleum Refineries (Sap- The 180,000 barrel per day (bpd) facility
ref) joint venture between BP and Royal Dutch was closed under force-majeure as looting and
Shell began restarting operations at its Durban unrest spread through KwaZulu-Natal and
refinery, which shut down earlier this month fol- beyond following the imprisonment of former
lowing civil unrest in the country. South African President Jacob Zuma.

P12 www. NEWSBASE .com Week 30 28•July•2021