DRC, Rwanda Sign Methane Gas Related MoU

Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and Rwanda on Thursday signed a MoU to extract methane gas from Lake Kivu, reported New Times, Rwanda’s English newspaper.

Rwanda’s State Minister in charge of Energy and Water, Germaine Kamayirese, said the MoU is meant to ensure that the exploration of methane gas by either country is done scientifically following guidelines established by a joint technical team set up to ensure ecological safety.

She said gas extracted from the lake can help in producing 700 megawatts of electricity daily.

The long-awaited KivuWatt Methane Energy Plant on Lake Kivu was finally connected to the national grid this month, with early testing of the power plant generating up to 22 megawatts against its 25-megawatt capacity, New Times reported.

According to Aimé Ngoi Mukena Lusa Desiré, the Congolese minister in charge of hydrocarbons, Kinshasa would follow Rwanda’s steps to ensure the extraction of methane gas in Lake Kivu starts and that the population benefits from the natural resource.

“We are looking for financial and technical capacities to designate an operator,” the newspaper quoted Lusa as saying.

However, the Congolese minister said the fully-fledged exploration would take place only after technical expertise has been provided on how to exploit the gas without causing any harm to environment and the population.