Mtwara — PRODUCTION at the Madimba Natural Gas Processing Plant has more than doubled in the past eight years, it has been revealed.
Plant manager Eng Emmanuel Mrosso stated over the weekend that production has now reached 110 million cubic feet per day, up from 45 million cubic feet in 2015 when it started.
"In total, since it began operations, the plant has produced 14.714 billion cubic feet high quality natural gas," he pointed out.
Speaking to journalists who visited the plant to learn about natural gas processing, Eng Mrosso said the plant increased production and the usage of the natural gas.
He said natural gas is used for various uses among others to generate electricity.
Eng Mrosso said the Madimba plant has the capacity of processing 210 million cubic feet per day.
"The major use of natural gas is to generate electricity and more than 60 per cent of Tanzania's electricity is from natural gas," said Eng Mrosso.
He added that the natural gas plants have been very helpful to Tanzania.
He said that the processed natural gas from the factory is transported through a 551-kilometre-long pipeline to Dar es Salaam for various uses including generating power, as well as in cars and homes.
Madimba Natural Gas Processing Plant operated by GASPO, a subsidiary of the Tanzania Petroleum Development Corporation (TPDC), is a key plant for sustainable development, he said.
He, however, said plan was underway to transport natural gas using cylinders so that it can reach consumers in various parts of the country for domestic use.
"There are strategies to compress it so that it can be transported to various places in the country and Tanzanians would get a home delivery service at affordable prices," said Eng Mrosso.
On her part, the TPDC Communication Manager, Ms Marie Msellemu, said the use of natural gas has increased and the number of domestic users has reached 2000.
Currently, the natural gas for domestic use is available in the three regions of Lindi, Mtwara and Dar es Salaam.
Ms Msellemu said the purpose of the media visit was to implement TPDC strategy aimed at spreading understanding to various stakeholders over what was going on and how the country's natural resources are used.
