SHIRIKA la Maendeleo ya Petrol nchini, TPDC limeanza utafiti wakijiolojia wa utafutaji mafuta na gesi katika vijiji vya Gombero mkoani Tanga.

Kutokana na hilo shirika hilo limeanza kutekeleza mradi wa uchongaji wa mashimo mafupi,visima vifupi kumi kwa ajili ya shughuli hiyo ya utafiti. Mradi huo unafanywa na kumilikiwa TPDC kwa asilimia 100.

Akizindua mradi huo Mgeologia, Amina Kagera alisema lengo kubwa la mradi huo ni kuwapa mafunzo wataalam vijana wa TPDC kwa kuwatumia wataalam wa ndani ya shirika waliobobea.

Alisema fursa  hiyo itawapa hamasa vijana kufanya tafiti mbalimbali nchini lengo likiwa ni uendelezaji wa utafutaji wa mafuta na gesi kwa faida ya watanzania wote.

“Mradi huu ulianza rasmi mwaka 2010 ukiwa na malengo ya kuwajengea uwezo wataalam wa sayansi ya utafutaji wa mafuta na gesi ambao hawakuwa na msingi wa taaluma ya kijiolojia kama wale wa fani ya jiofizikia na uhandisi”alisema Kagera

Kagera alisema mradi huo unahusisha wataalam wa kukusanya sampuli za jiolojia,jiokemikia na kuchambua sampuli, kufanya tafiti mbalimbali kuhusisha sampuli hizo na utengenezaji wa ramani za kijiolojia katika maeneo husika.

Alisema pia utaongeza thamani katika mabonde ya Tanzania ambapo shughuli za utafutaji wa mafuta na gesi hufanyika.

“Mwaka 2012 hadi 2013 baada ya kazi za vitendo katika maeneo ya Kakindu na Mto kibindo karibu na bwawa la Nairobi,Gombero Mkoani Tanga wataalam waligundua uwepo mkubwa wa miamba tabaka aina ya Shalena,Silti Shale na makaa ya mawe” alisema Kagera

Naye Mkurugenzi wa Utafiti, Emma Msaky alisema malengo makuu ya mradi huo ni kuzidi kuyaanisha maeneo ya utafutaji wa mafuta na gesi ili kujua uwepo wa miamba ya uzalishaji wa nishati hizo.

Alizitaja gharama za uchorongaji wa mashimo hayo na visima hivyo vifupi ni takribani dola za Kimarekani 195,000 ambapo fedha zote hulipwa na TPDC kutoka kwenye mfuko wake wa fedha za miradi ya maendeleo.

THE oil price has fallen by more than 40% since June, when it
was $115 a barrel. It is now below $70. This comes after nearly five
years of stability. At a meeting in Vienna on November 27th the
Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries, which controls nearly 40%
of the world market, failed to reach agreement on production curbs,
sending the price tumbling. Also hard hit are oil-exporting countries
such as Russia (where the rouble has hit record lows), Nigeria, Iran and
Venezuela. Why is the price of oil falling?
The oil price is
partly determined by actual supply and demand, and partly by
expectation. Demand for energy is closely related to economic activity.
It also spikes in the winter in the northern hemisphere, and during
summers in countries which use air conditioning. Supply can be affected
by weather (which prevents tankers loading) and by geopolitical upsets.
If producers think the price is staying high, they invest, which after a
lag boosts supply. Similarly, low prices lead to an investment drought.
OPEC’s decisions shape expectations: if it curbs supply sharply, it can
send prices spiking. Saudi Arabia produces nearly 10m barrels a day—a
third of the OPEC total.
Four things are now affecting the
picture. Demand is low because of weak economic activity, increased
efficiency, and a growing switch away from oil to other fuels. Second,
turmoil in Iraq and Libya—two big oil producers with nearly 4m barrels a
day combined—has not affected their output. The market is more sanguine
about geopolitical risk. Thirdly, America has become the world’s
largest oil producer. Though it does not export crude oil, it now
imports much less, creating a lot of spare supply. Finally, the Saudis
and their Gulf allies have decided not to sacrifice their own market
share to restore the price. They could curb production sharply, but the
main benefits would go to countries they detest such as Iran and Russia.
Saudi Arabia can tolerate lower oil prices quite easily. It has $900
billion in reserves. Its own oil costs very little (around $5-6 per
barrel) to get out of the ground.
The main effect of this is on
the riskiest and most vulnerable bits of the oil industry. These include
American frackers who have borrowed heavily on the expectation of
continuing high prices. They also include Western oil companies with
high-cost projects involving drilling in deep water or in the Arctic, or
dealing with maturing and increasingly expensive fields such as the
North Sea. But the greatest pain is in countries where the regimes are
dependent on a high oil price to pay for costly foreign adventures and
expensive social programmes. These include Russia (which is already hit
by Western sanctions following its meddling in Ukraine) and Iran (which
is paying to keep the Assad regime afloat in Syria). Optimists think
economic pain may make these countries more amenable to international
pressure. Pessimists fear that when cornered, they may lash out in
desperation.