On Tuesday, the Global Energy Monitor (GEM) said that Libya has the second longest network of operating gas pipelines, at 6,243 km.
According to a report entitled “The scramble for Africa’s gas”, GEM stated that Africa has about 31,555 km of gas pipelines in service. Algeria has the longest network of gas pipelines in operation on the continent, with 13,630 kilometers.
It added that Egypt was third, with a network of 3,545 km, Nigeria, fourth, with 3,200 km, and Tunisia, fifth, with 1,105 km. With the exception of Nigeria, the four countries are all in North Africa.
Regarding the construction of regional gas pipelines, the same report indicates that Africa has a total of 23,932 km of gas pipelines under development.
“However, most of the projects in development remain to be built, most of the projects being in the study phase, and only 1,872 km currently under construction,” it noted. Nigeria is the primary builder of regional gas pipelines. with 1,427 km under construction.
The report highlighted that significant gas pipeline projects under construction include the Trans Nigeria Gas Pipeline, which when completed will run from the Qua Iboe Gas Terminal to Kano Gas Terminal, Nigeria. From there, it will connect with the current Trans-Sahara Gas Pipeline. planned for the export of natural gas to Europe.
The report also indicated that the five largest producers of electricity from gas in Africa are Egypt (51,608 MW), Algeria (22,247 MW), Nigeria (10,968 MW), Libya (10,163 MW), Tunisia (5,633 MW), and the rest of Africa (8,623 MW).
According to the Global Energy Monitor report: “Power generation in Africa is dominated by natural gas, which accounts for 40% of total generation in 2020. GEM data shows a total of 109,242 MW for power generation plants. Most of these plants are in North Africa. In 2021, the African Energy Commission reported that, with the exception of Angola, all African countries that produce gas use it for electricity generation.