Advancing United Nations SDG7Through Adaptation Of Liquefied Natural Gas

Abstract

The seventh sustainable development goal aims to ensure universal access to affordable, reliable,  sustainable  and  modern energy services by 2030. One of the resolutions during the Conference of Parties 26(COP26) held in Glasgow Scotland in 2021 on energy was transition to clean energy use. The Forests, Agriculture and Commodity Trade (FACT) Dialogue, a road  map  for the sustainable development and trade of agriculture  commodities  was  launched. This means that there is a need to reconsider further sources of energy especially for household cooking  and  heating.  China, Japan, South Korea and India are the world’s leading importers of LNG. Despite the fact that they do not have any reserves of LNG, they are among the highest consumers of LNG in the world. For example, leading LNG importing company  in  the  world,  KOGAS of South Korea also has the largest storage capacity. 84% of household energy use in S. Korea is from LNG piped directly to homes. Tanzania is a sleeping giant as far as LNG is concerned. It has 57.54T of LNG both offshore and onshore yet it is estimated that more than 95% of households in Tanzania use firewood and charcoal as their source of energy for cooking and with electricity access at only 39.9%. Tanzania’s estimated natural gas reserves, are enough to cover the country’s domestic use and make Tanzania the next natural gas hub in Africa. The natural gas from Songo Songo was first commercialized in 2004 and the gas from Mnazi Bay in 2006. The commercialization of the two discoveries propelled further gas exploration in Tanzania both onshore and offshore. Investments  efforts  by  the  government are  geared  towards   propelling   Tanzania to the club of Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) exporters. Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has further accelerated this move considering that nations worldwide more so Europe have shifted focus to looking for new energy sources. For East Africa there is a proposal for Tanzania– Uganda pipeline 1,800kM; Tanzania – Kenya pipeline of 600kM from Mtwara to Mombasa, an MOU between the two countries has been signed