Ethiopia to export gas by 2018

China

ADDIS ABABA, October 2, 2015 – Ethiopia will export natural gas within the next three to five years, the government’s mines minister Tolossa Shagi told the Associated Press.

Chinese upstream operator China Poly Technology has invested almost $5 billion in the country, following its discovery of about 133 bcm (4.7 tcf) of gas, the company said to the state news agency. China Poly will build a pipeline connecting the feedstock in the southeastern region of Ogaden to Djibouti, where the gas can then be exported.

Shagi projects the country will earn more than $1 billion annually from gas exports, once operations are on line.

On Wednesday, US contractor Black Rhino announced a deal to build a $1.5-billion pipeline to import fuel from Djibouti into Ethiopia.