OP-Ed:An Energy Self Sufficient Somaliland Part 2

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Some might say; Habar fadhida lagdin la fudud, to describe my proposals of an Energy sufficient Somaliland but I would like to remind those doubters that developed countries didn’t get anything without working for it.

In Somaliland case, hard work might not be necessary in fact little work would be needed if gas fields where developed first in the Guban, where gas bearing source rock have been identified.

Another option is the coal reserve in Hed-Hed (western Sanaag) where there is enough coal for Somaliland and export, the only uncertainty is if the calorific value (quality) of the coal is up standard or not.

If inspiration is needed then Tanzania is the best case study for Somaliland due to its geographical location and its stability, but more importantly Tanzania has achieved to become more or less an energy self sufficient country with limited foreign investment.

The development of the offshore Songo Songo gas field have been very crucial to the development of Tanzania, the long pipeline from the southeast of the country finally reaches Dar es Salaam and feeds the main gas power station that currently generates around 200mw, the project have been hailed by all parties as a success and its today the largest energy project in east Africa.

Kenyas answer to its energy deficiency came from geothermal power sourced from the Great Rift Valley, it currently accounts for 200mw of Kenya’s power supply and has the capacity to supply up 1200 mw from the same rift. This project was not very cost effective in the beginning, due to the high cost the drilling, but the Kenyans managed to reduce the cost by half by buying their own drill equipment and fully own the company.

So what does this mean for Somaliland, we all know that both Kenya and Tanzania are well respected nations with good governance for a long time, how does Somaliland fit in to this model. The Songo Songo field was discovered in the mid 70s but was only developed in the start of the new millennium to benefit national needs and not to transform Tanzania into a gas exporting nation. The quantities that were discovered didn’t justify export but was more than enough for local consumption.

There is no point in entertaining and discussing the Berbera Cement Plant without securing a constant and reliable energy source, today’s petrol and diesel prices are not the same as they where during the 80s when the cement plant was up and running. In any given day the temperature goes up to 1500 ®C in each kiln that is up and running in an cement plant and the kiln has to be on at all times, this means that you need a constant and cheap power supply.

Many projects are in the pipeline that needs attention like the upgrading of Berbera port, livestock quarantines and the proposed fish processing plants. The Berbera cement plant by itself will consume more power than the whole of Somaliland which makes the projects sound ridicules.

My personal estimates of Somaliland’s current power generations capacity is not more than 35mw, compare that to Djibouti’s power generating capacity (thermal diesel) which is around 80 mw and it’s obvious that something must be done.

Mohamed Ibrahim

Mohamed Ibrahim Bsc, Msc is an independent oil &gas consultant and an expert in the East African oil&gas industry. He can be reached at moh.ibr.consultant@hotmail.com

Source: http://somalilandpress.com/op-edan-ener ... rt-2-19478

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I guess you'd all rather talk about reer miyi ceelo isku dileya.