Tanzania has embarked on a massive offshore oil and gas exploration project, its energy minister has said
China National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC) is planning oil and gas exploration off the coast of Tanzania, Bloomberg reported on Thursday. The East African country is seeking to boost development of its natural resources, the report said.
The state-owned Tanzania Petroleum Development Corp (TPDC) along with CNOOC will conduct joint work on deep-sea blocks, according to Tanzanian Energy Minister January Makamba.
The two companies have “an agreement in the works” to carry out seismic studies ahead of an offshore licensing round due to be held next year, Tanzania’s energy minister told the news outlet during a visit to China.
“We believe that Tanzania has more gas, and possibly oil, to be discovered because only 30% of the area with potential for oil and gas resources has been explored so far,” the official noted.
The blocks owned by TPDC are located near large gas fields discovered by a consortium of international energy majors, including Shell, Equinor, and ExxonMobil. Tanzania has also recently agreed on a deal with Western oil and gas supermajors to build a $42 billion liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal, according to the outlet.
“It paves the way for the series of milestones that need to follow to realize this fantastic LNG opportunity for the country and the world,” Equinor’s Tanzania country manager Unni Fjaer was quoted by Reuters as saying.
Tanzania, along with other African countries, is looking to take advantage of increased LNG demand in the EU, which has ramped up imports of the super-chilled fuel to replace Russian gas supplies.
According to the country’s energy ministry, Tanzania has recoverable natural gas reserves of more than 57 trillion cubic feet.
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