8OCTOBER 2024TOP STORIESADANI TO OPERATE ELECTRICITY INFRASTRUCTURE IN KENYAONGC TO HARVEST NON-PIPELINE CONNECTED GASES VIA MINIATURE LNG PLANTSIndian billionaire Gautam Adani-led conglomerate has signed a pact to build and operate key electricity transmission lines in Kenya for 30 years, the African nation's Cabinet Secretary for Energy Opiyo Wandayi said. Adani Energy Solutions Ltd signed a project agreement with the Kenya Electricity Transmission Company Ltd (Ketraco)."This agreement marks the beginning of a transformative initiative to develop, finance, construct, operate, and maintain key transmission lines and substations across Kenya," he said in a press statement.Kenya faces persistent power blackouts and the projects awarded to Adani are to upgrade the country's transmission infrastructure to ensure reliable power."As part of this infrastructure development, the project company (AESL) will raise all the funding in the form of debt and equity that will be repaid over the 30-year period of the project agreement," he said. "The project cost, that is currently estimated at Kenyan shilling 95.68 billion (USD 736 million) will be crystallised through a competitive bidding process that will be jointly handled by Ketraco and AESL."The Government of Kenya will not incur any financial expenditure on the project."AESL will manage the transmission lines for 30 years, ensuring long-term sustainability and efficiency, and thereafter transfer the project and all its assets to Ketraco," he said.AESL will develop three transmission lines and two substations.Adani Group was previously talking to the Kenyan government to operate its main airport but the proposal has been put on hold following protests. State-owned Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) is looking to set up mini-LNG plants to evacuate natural gas from wells in areas not connected to pipelines.The firm has identified five sites in Andhra Pradesh, Jharkhand and Gujarat for setting up mini plants at wellhead that will convert the gas pumped out from under the ground into liquefied natural gas (LNG) by supercooling it to minus 160 degrees Celsius.This LNG will be loaded on cryogenic trucks and transported to the nearest pipeline, where it will be reconverted into its gaseous state and pumped into the network for supply to users like power plants, fertilizer units or city gas retailers.The Oil and Natural Gas Corporation Limited (ONGC) is an Indian central public sector undertaking which is the largest government-owned oil and gas explorer and producer in the country. It accounts for around 70 percent of India's domestic production of crude oil and around 84 percent of natural gas. Headquartered in Delhi, ONGC is under the ownership of the Government of India and administration of Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas. TOP STORIESTOP STORIESTOP STORIESTOP STORIESTOP STORIESTOP STORIES
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