This archive report was first published on 28 October 2021.
KenGen to Study Feasibility of LNG-to-Power Project ¶
Kenya's national energy provider, KenGen, has hired US-based K&M Advisors to study the feasibility of an LNG-to-power project. The project aims to develop an LNG import terminal at Mombasa's port and assess the cost and viability of various LNG import facilities.
According to reports, the feasibility study will examine the technical, financial, economic, social, and environmental consequences of the project. It will also evaluate the cost and viability of different LNG import facilities, including onshore terminals and floating storage and regasification units (FSRUs), as well as smaller-scale options such as rail or truck delivery.
The study will aim to assess if regasified LNG is a more cost-effective fuel for power generation in Kenya than petroleum products. It will also look at the possibility of delivering gas to Kenyan industrial users who are now reliant on residual fuel oil or diesel.
Kenya is currently neither a producer nor a user of natural gas, but it has shown an interest in buying gas from Tanzania. In May this year, Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta and his Tanzanian counterpart, Samia Suluhu Hassan, discussed the possibility of establishing a cross-border pipeline to share energy resources.
The proposed pipeline would stretch over 600 kilometers and finish in Mombasa, with an estimated cost of KES121 billion ($1.09 billion). According to Kenyatta, the pipeline would allow Kenyan thermal power plants to use gas as a fuel for generating, lowering the cost of power in Kenya while also lowering emissions.
