Gisenyi Methane Gas Plant

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The Gisenyi Methane Gas Plant involves the design and installation of a pilot plant to extract methane from Lake Kivu and produce power for use in Rwanda. The successful implementation of Phase I (the pilot) has meant that the operator was to install a full scale plant capable of generating 50MW of power (Phase II). A Phase III would extend the electricity production to 100MW. The project is executed by Rwanda Energy Company (REC), a subsidiary of Rwanda Investment Group sa (RIG). REC has signed a Memorandum of Agreement (MoA) with the government of Rwanda (GoR) to produce 50MW. Once the gas technologie are proven, the MoA was to be converted into a PPA. An early deadline of November 2008 was missed when an incident occurred on the extraction platform and a part of the extraction equipment sank into Lake Kivu. The equipment which sank represented approximately 10% of the total cost and was covered by insurance, but still delayed the project for 10 months. Phase I was completely financed by RIG. $8 million was invested for the purchase and delivery of equipment, overhead expenses, construction and site preparation, but investments totalled $16 million. $50 million was for gas concessions. For Phase II, SA was looking for a strategic investor to raise $131 million by bringing in equity of $40 million and assisting in mobilizing debt (by July 2016). It plans to invest an additional $138 to boost capacity to 100MW by 2018. Phase II would be 70% debt financed and 30% equity financed; RIG sa was to hold 60% of the equity, while a strategic partner was to have the remaining 40% of the equity stake. Sponsor: Rwanda Energy Company (a subsidiary of Rwanda Investment Group) N.B. Investment amounts on RIG website unclear.