Eastern Africa Shared Gas Infrastructure Initiative – EASTGas

The project investigates potential demand for natural gas in the Eastern African region based on the development of resources in Mozambique and Tanzania, and potentially, Kenya. The countries analyzed include Mozambique, Tanzania, Kenya, Uganda, Malawi, Rwanda, Burundi, Ethiopia and South Africa. The narrative regarding such domestic markets has been until now that projected use was too small or to remote to justify the development of the associated pipeline infrastructure, disregarding the fact that gas supply availability can spur demand beyond what is initially anticipated. The project looks at the best ways to effectively develop gas use in these countries based on case studies, first by using large anchor customers such as power plants and large industrials, but also investigating potential for more localized use of natural gas – as currently investigated by South Africa. It is also important to understand how the regulatory frameworks in the different regions could be improved to promote the development of regional natural gas demand. Also an investigation about the potential complementarities of natural gas and renewable forms of energy in the Eastern Africa region becomes crucial to evaluate the potential emergence of a natural gas-renewable energy tandem as a paradigm for the future regional sustainability.