African gas pipeline projects compete with coal and LNG power

S. Oirere, Contributing Writer Sub-Saharan Africa is in dire need of greater power generation capacity to provide energy to the 600 MM people on the continent who have no access to electricity. The region’s proven natural gas reserves of more than 496 Tcf could be a major driver for countries in the region to achieve energy security. A few sub-Saharan countries are studying the implementation of proposed gas pipeline projects to move natural gas from production fields to power generation plants. However, concerns are emerging that investment proposals could become unviable due to increasing competition from cheap coal, preference for LNG imports, and studies indicating that electricity tra