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Projects and Programmes - Fossil Fuels

1. Regional Development Strategy Initiative

In order to facilitate provision of efficient and reliable delivery of oil products throughout the region, the Regional Strategy on development of regional refineries was developed. It addresses all aspects of petroleum distribution system in the region, including refineries and storage facilities in a holistic way in order to improve its effectiveness and efficiency. The Strategy reveals the clear interdependence between various forms of infrastructure in the delivery of petroleum products. Key recommendations for the strategy include:

  1. Develop a new refinery in Uganda in order for the oil discovered in Uganda to provide optimal benefits to the region;
  2. Accelerate planned upgrading of the Mombasa refinery; and
  3. Improve the handling, transportation, storage and distribution facilities in the region for efficient and economic distribution of petroleum products

 

2. Oil and Gas Pipeline Projects

Important discoveries made in Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda are expected to enhance the resource potential for the region towards energy self-sufficiency. This came after oil and gas regional exploration efforts were scaled up.

These efforts paved way for petroleum infrastructure projects. EAC has identified priority oil and gas pipeline projects as follows:

  1. Crude oil pipeline: Feasibility studies for a crude oil pipeline to transport crude oil from the Albertine Graben to the Indian Ocean for export have been completed. In addition, a network of crude oil pipelines will transport crude oil from the oil fields to the Refinery currently under development. An oil products pipeline from the Refinery to Kampala will facilitate delivery to the market.
  2. Upgrading existing oil products pipeline: The existing pipeline system runs from Mombasa port to Eldoret and Kisumu in Western Kenya. The upgrade project covers construction of a new pipeline from Mombasa to Nairobi and between Sinendat and Kisumu as capacity enhancement for the Eldoret depot. These projects will contribute to planned expansion to other EAC Partner States and other countries that rely on the region for their petroleum imports. For more information, refer to the Kenya Pipeline website.
  3. Kenya - Uganda - Rwanda - Burundi oil products pipeline: Feasibility studies and tender documents for the extension of the existing oil products pipeline from Kenya to Uganda and Rwanda have been completed and resources for EPC contracting are being mobilised. Procurement for consultancy services to carry out feasibility study for extension from Rwanda to Burundi is ongoing. The project sections include Eldoret (Kenya) - Kampala (Uganda), Kampala – Kigali (Rwanda) and Kigali - Bujumbura (Burundi). In addition, an oil products pipeline will link a new refinery in Hoima (Uganda) to Kampala making it a hub for refined oil products from the discoveries in the Albertine Graben for distribution in the region through the planned pipeline network. These projects will facilitate efficient, safe, cost-effective and environmentally-friendly distribution of the oil products.
  4. Proposed Uganda - Tanzania oil products pipeline: EAC plans to link all its Partner States to the planned refinery development in Hoima, Uganda. It is in this context that an oil products pipeline is planned from Mbarara (Uganda) to Mwanza, Isaka and Dar es Salaam (Tanzania). The planned pipeline system from Kampala (Uganda) to Kigali (Rwanda) and Bujumbura (Burundi) will create a major depot in Mbarara (Uganda). The planned pipeline to Tanzania is proposed to start from this depot. Resources are being mobilised to carry out a feasibility study on the project.

Natural Gas Infrastructure Development: The United Republic of Tanzania has developed a Natural Gas Master Plan for the sustainability of local gas needs and surplus for export. Substantial financing is required in order to drill additional and/or multiple appraisal wells in the deep waters where discoveries have been made as well as putting in place the necessary infrastructure (processing plants, pipeline etc.). In a bid to meet the growing demand for natural gas, a new natural gas pipeline has been constructed from Mtwara to Dar es Salaam. The delivered natural gas is being used for power generation and other industrial uses.

 

3. East African Petroleum Conferences and Exhibition

The EAC organises the East African Petroleum Conferences and Exhibition biennially since 2003.

The Conference and Exhibition aims at promoting petroleum exploration potential and investment opportunities in East Africa. It is hosted on a rotational basis by the Partner States and brings together Governments, international oil companies, oil industry service companies, academia. The main activities include technical presentations, posters and field excursions to regions that Partner States would like to promote for exploration and investment. It is flavoured by a variety of social activities to give participants an unforgettable experience.

When the East African Petroleum Conferences started in 2003, there was limited information on the region’s petroleum potential and little exploration activity. The region was perceived as a frontier with the only discoveries at the time being natural gas in Songo Songo and Mnazi Bay in Tanzania. There was little interest both for the region and the conference, which only attracted 150 participants.

Things changed dramatically after the second conference held in Entebbe in 2005 with the discovery of oil in the Albertine Graben in Uganda in 2006. By the third conference in Arusha in 2007, the number of participants had grown to over 500 and interest in the region was growing.

During the fourth edition of the conference held in Mombasa in 2009, interest in the conference had grown extensively, rendering it necessary to introduce parallel sessions - a feature the conference has maintained since. It was also during the Mombasa conference that a significant interest in exhibition was realised, so much that it was made a fully-fledged component in the subsequent conferences. The name was then officially changed from East African Petroleum Conference to East African Petroleum Conference & Exhibition (EAPCE).

The last EAPCE was held in March 2015 in Kigali, Rwanda. The 8th East African Petroleum Conference and Exhibition will be held on 8-10th March 2017.

Other Initiatives

Other initiatives in Renewable Energy include:

  1. Comprehensive Energy Conservation and Efficiency Strategy and Plan. The ToRs for this initiative have been developed and funding is being sourced.
  2. Renewable Energy Master Plan. This will feed into the Regional Energy Master Plan. ToRs have also been developed and funding is being sourced.
  3. Energy and Environment Partnership. The Energy and Environment Partnership (EEP) programme is an initiative that supports private sector to develop renewable energy projects in Southern and Eastern Africa. The EAC Secretariat is a member of the supervisory board. The overarching aims / objectives of the of the EEP-S&EA programme are:
    1. Make a meaningful contribution to the region’s collective efforts in overcoming energy poverty and improving energy security by means of contributing to increased access to modern, affordable and reliable energy services through an increased usage of renewable energy technologies
    2. Influencing regional energy policies, by means of dissemination of lessons learned, and thus contributing to an enabling environment for renewable energy entrepreneurs and investment
    3. Providing a constructive and collaborative regional forum for information exchange and dissemination of lessons learned

 

Selection of projects to be funded under the EEP programme is through a competitive call for proposals. For more information please refer to www.eepafrica.org.

Fossil Fuels

The main objectives of this initiative is to:

  • promote all aspects of Fossil Fuel sub-sector
  • promote petroleum exploration, production and development
  • develop a Fossil Fuel Master Plan that will appraise all aspects of Fossil Fuel sub-sector including petroleum infrastructure development

 

To get more information on other initiatives, read more about the projects and programmes under the sub-sector.

Projects and Programmes - Renewable Energy

1. Regional Strategy on Scaling Up Access to Modern Energy Services

The EAC Regional Strategy on Scaling-Up Access to Modern Energy Services aims to increase access to modern energy services by adopting High Impact, Low Cost scalable approaches. It addresses four key targets that are key to poverty reduction and sustainable development in line with the 7th UN Sustainable Development Goal. The four targets include:

  1. Access to modern cooking practices for 50% of traditional biomass users;
  2. Access to reliable electricity for all urban and peri-urban poor;
  3. Access to modern energy services for all schools, clinics, hospitals and community centres; and
  4. Access to mechanical power within the community for all productive services.

A Five-Year Implementation Action Plan has been adopted specifying national and regional activities.

 

2. Technical Capacity Building on Small Hydropower in East Africa

East Africa has enormous potential for small Hydropower development which can contribute to enhancing access to modern energy services through renewable and sustainable solutions. The EAC Secretariat with the support of the European Union Energy Initiative-Project Dialogue Facility carried out scoping study to determine the technical capacity on small Hydropower in East Africa and make recommendations on how to close existing gaps through capacity building. The study came up with the following eight interventions in four recommended areas:

RecommendationIntervention
  1. Training of trainers hosted at a regional or international energy training institute collaborating with operational power plants and on-going projects
2. Specialised training for O&M hosted at a regional or country technical energy training institute collaborating with operational power plants
  3. Training of technical hydropower engineering experts through short-term specialised courses hosted at a participating university or energy training institute collaborating with operational power plants and on-going projects
4. Hydropower management and economics experts through short-term specialised courses hosted at a participating university or energy training institute collaborating with operational power plants and on-going projects
  5. Setting up of a dedicated internet platform
6. Establishment of an EAC Centre of Excellence for Hydropower
7. International / regional exchange / study visit
  8. Visibility activities for hydropower through annual EAC hydropower symposiums / workshops / exhibitions hosted in a given Partner State on rotational basis and inviting the public to hydropower plants

The EAC is working with the African Union to implement these recommendations with funding obtained from the Italian Government who is the co-chair of the Africa-EU Energy Partnership. The programme is expected to go on for three years and additional funding is being sought.

 

3. Establishing the East African Centre for Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency (EACREEE)

The East African Community is establishing the East African Centre for Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency (EACREEE). The Overall Objective of the Centre is to contribute towards increased access to modern, affordable and reliable energy services, energy security and mitigation of negative externalities of the energy system, local pollution and GHG emissions by creating an enabling environment for renewable energy and energy efficiency markets and investments. In order to achieve the set objective, EACREEE activities will focus on the following five result areas as:

RESULT AREA 1: Effective regional RE&EE promotion agency created and efficiently managed

RESULT AREA 2: Policy, legal and incentive frameworks to promote RE&EE investments and markets developed created and implemented

RESULT AREA 3: Capacities of the local industry and business sector on various RE&EE aspects are strengthened and applied

RESULT AREA 4: Availability of investment and market data, awareness and advocacy on RE&EE are strengthened

RESULT AREA 5: Investments in RE&EE infrastructure, services and businesses are mobilised and implemented

 

EAC is being supported in this process by the Government of Austria through the Austrian Development Agency and the United Nations Industrial Development Organisation. A Project Document has been developed detailing the design, functions, structure and the budget for the first three-year operational phase.

New and Renewable Energy

New and Renewable Energy Sources, Energy Conservation and Energy Efficiency

The East African Region, like the rest of Africa, is endowed with vast renewable energy resources. However, the most of the renewable energy potential is yet to be exploited. A Scoping Study commissioned by the EAC outlines the renewable energy sources available in each EAC Partner State and the potential projects to develop these resources.

The objective of the EAC for the New and Renewable Energy Sources, Energy Conservation and Energy Efficiency sub-sector is to increase the deployment of renewable energy and the adoption of energy conservation and energy efficiency practices. Specific objectives include:

  • To promote development of New and Renewable Energy Sources;
  • To initiate programmes on Energy Conservation and Energy Efficiency;
  • To develop a comprehensive energy conservation and efficiency strategy and plan; and
  • To develop a Renewable Energy Master Plan.

 

New and Renewable Energy Sources, Energy Conservation and Energy Efficiency sub-sector Initiatives

  1. Regional Strategy on Scaling-Up Access to Modern Energy Services
  2. Technical Capacity Building for Small Hydropower projects
  3. Establishment of the East Africa Centre for Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency

 

To get more information, read more about the projects and programmes under the sub-sector

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East African Community
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