Pan African Energy Sees Gas Demand Rising In Tanzania

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PanAfrican Energy Tanzania (PAET), suppliers of up to 40% of Tanzania’s gas for electricity production and industrial use, has unveiled a plan to spend an estimated $48mn this year to boost output.

In an operational update released on January 28, PAET says the planned investment was informed by its expectation of higher demand for gas this year and beyond.  Driving the demand should be the anticipated completion of another unit at Kinyerezi power plant in the third quarter of this year and a new 185-MW combined cycle generation facility likely to be commissioned by December.  There is also potential demand from the country’s expanding network of compressed natural gas stations for transport.

Managing director Andy Hanna said PAET will invest in compression, work-overs and flow-line de-bottle-necking to sustain production and meet the projected demand up to October 2026.

Read also: Is Swala Oil and Gas Driving Hard Towards 2020

“The company plans to carry out a number of challenging technical projects to meet demand and increase access to the benefits that Tanzania’s indigenous natural gas resources bring to the nation,” he said.

PAET, a subsidiary of Canada-based Orca Exploration, operates an offshore gas field at Songo Songo under a production sharing agreement with the Tanzania Petroleum Development Corporation (TDPC).

About $1.3mn will be spent on the flow-line debottlenecking project that will begin this month, he said. In total, the work to boost compression will cost $38mn, $34.2mn of which is forecast to be spent this year.  The remainder will be utilised next year when the work is billed to end.

In addition, PAET is evaluating options to work over three onshore wells on Songo Songo Island this year at an estimated cost of $13.1mn. One of the wells is producing but two are shut in. Working the two over will increase output. However, the timing and full scope of the work-overs is subject to board approval and endorsement from Songas, which processes and transports gas by pipe for power generation.

Demand for gas was strong in 2019, said PAET, consistent with the central bank’s recent statement that the east African nation’s gas output rose to 60.3mn ft³ in the June 2018/May 2019 period, up from 54mn ft³ in the previous year due to rising demand for electricity generation.  PAET forecasts the trend will continue in that way this year and in the coming years.

The company supplied an annual average of 63.1mn ft³/d of gas last year, a huge jump from 39.9mn ft³/d in 2018. TPDC bought some 9.2bn ft³ of the output which it in turn used to generate electricity or sold to industry.

Gas Output at the Tanzania Mnazi Bay Project Dropped

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Output of the Mnazi Bay gas project in southern Tanzania dropped last year as a result of weaker gas demand, Wentworth Resources, one of its developers, said in a statement on February 3.

The Mnazi Bay gas field, located in South-eastern Tanzania, started producing gas in 2015 and is being operated by Pertamina-owned Maurel & Prom partnered with Alberta-based Wentworth Resources. The state-owned oil company, Tanzania Petroleum Development Corporation, has a stake in the field

A subsidiary of Indonesia’s Pertamina with a 48% stake, while Wentworth has almost 32% and Tanzania’s state-owned TPDC 20%. The asset produced 70.29mn ft3/day of gas in 2019, Wentworth said, down from 83.2mn ft3/day in the previous year.

Read also:   Is Aminex Getting Ready To Supply the Much-Needed Gas In Tanzania

High rainfall during the year resulted in increased hydropower production in Tanzania, curtailing gas-fired generation, Wentworth said. The National Natural Gas Infrastructure (NNGI) pipeline also received more gas from an offshore Songo Songo field, curbing demand for Wentworth’s supplies.

One of the Mnazi Bay wells, MB-2, was temporarily shut-in. It restored flows on December 21 after flowline repairs, and other well, MB-4, has been recompleted, raising its output by 15mn ft3/day, Wentworth said.Mnazi Bay is expected to produce between 65-75mn ft3/day of gas in 2020, according to Wentworth. The project’s developers signed a gas supply agreement with TPDC in September last year for 80mn ft3/day of gas in 2020. The contract includes an 85% take-or-pay provision, meaning that TPDC will pay for at least 68mn ft3/day of gas, regardless of how much it wants.

Worley to Support Development Of Total’s Mozambique LNG Project

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Worley has been awarded two master service agreements (MSAs) by Total E&P Mozambique Area 1 Limitada to provide services to the Mozambique LNG Project.

Under the MSAs, Worley will provide in-and-out of country services, including engineering, consulting and specialist engineering for delivery of onshore and offshore (subsea) facilities. The services will support the development of the new LNG facility.

Read also:Is Swala Oil and Gas Driving Hard Towards 2020

The services will be executed by Worley’s local Mozambique operation with support from Worley’s global businesses including Advisian. Worley has supported the LNG development, located on the Afungi peninsula in Cabo Delgado province, since gas was first discovered there in 2010.

“We are pleased to continue providing services to the LNG development and to support one of Africa’s largest projects. Through the MSAs, we will help Total and its partners in the Mozambique LNG Project meet the world’s changing energy needs,” said Andrew Wood, Chief Executive Officer of Worley.

(Source: Worley – Image: Total)

Seven New Skills and Workforce Requirements Searched By Oil and Gas Companies From Modern Workers

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The oil and gas industry has changed in the past few years. Fluctuating oil prices, regulations, and technologies, presenting opportunities for skilled workers.

Increasing productivity and high performance of the workforce have become higher priority areas across the industry. Today oil and gas companies need to get the most from the workers.

To be successful in today’s marketplace, whether unemployed or employed oil and gas workers you need to redirect your career to match new job roles.

The best news is that knowledgeable workers with transferable skills will have advantages

Here are new skills and qualities searched by oil and gas employers.

  1. Software competency and ability to use up-to-date technology.

Technology transforms how we live and work. And the increasing use of technology in the oil and gas industry, helps companies lower costs, improved safety and drive efficiency.

If you were a geologist, geophysicist or Geoscientist at oil and gas companies in Tanzania or East Africa your whole co-workers and management will be super happy if you are capable to use software to do seismic or data acquisition design using your laptop. Because you save them a lot of headaches and hassles. Furthermore, you save the company hundreds or even thousands of dollars that are paid to seismic providers to designs.

. If you are those professionals who are uncomfortable with new technology, you are going to get left behind. Sorry

  1. Be aware of the regulatory and compliance.
    With new regulations governing oil and gas project approvals and the need for compliances, oil and gas companies require professionals who are aware of regulatory and compliance of existing and proposed oil and gas operations.
  2. Strive for continuous improvement:
    The performance of an organization, whether it is oil and gas companies or service company is determined by the competence of the workforce. And competence can be developed through lifelong learning and continually upgrading your skills.

Your ability to get the job done better, faster and how competent you are is what determines your participation in the East African oil and gas sector,

  1. Communication Skills
    Increased public consultation in the planning stages of the oil and gas projects will create demands for workers with strong consulting and communication skills to gather data and address key issues.

For example, the construction of LNG facilities or Oil and gas pipelines require broader consultation with local communities. That generates more demand for communication skills.

  1. Problem-Solving Ability:
    Your ability to gather data, use the information to come to identify key issues and come with solutions is crucial for employers in the oil and gas industry.

6.Professionalism and Strong work ethics:
This is the ability to be true and honest to yourself and others. This is when you admit your mistake and weakness.

7.Leadership skills:
This is your ability to take responsibility, volunteer assignments and perform at a higher level to achieve company goals without making an excuse.

 Final Words

The oil and gas industry and in Tanzania and East Africa is adopting changes. And for those who want to become part of it must do likewise. Because with all this change comes both opportunities and challenges for the oil and gas workers in Tanzania and East Africa

Three Trends Impacting Oil and Gas Workforce In Tanzania and East Africa

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The oil price crash of  2014 to 2016 have played a key role in the industry’s workforce restructuring.

Merger and acquisition have also impacted East African oil and gas workforce. The most recent announced merger and acquisition deal was the Indonesian company, Medco Energi’s $539m acquisition of Ophir Energy on May 2019.

Furthermore, on February 2016, Royal Dutch Shell acquired BG Group for US$ 50 million. The takeover gave Shell 60% of BG’s block 1 and block 4 offshore Tanzania.

These mergers and acquisition deals have significantly impacted the oil and gas workforce in Tanzania and East Africa.

Even as oil prices began to recover in 2017 and  2018, the industry remained focused on  managing costs, productivity, high performance  of the workforce and that is  expected to continue in 2020 and beyond.

This article examines the impact of key trends and brief analysis on how these trends will reshape the skills of the East African oil and gas industry in  2020 and beyond.

Let us face them.

  1. Technological advances leading to growth of new skills

Oil and gas companies are adopting new  technology  to lower cost, increase  productivity and improve operational efficiency. An increased use of measurement-while-drilling (MWD)  and logging-while-drilling (LWD) tools which collect data during the drilling process could improve drilling accuracy.

In addition to that, following the latest  technology in geophysical services (also known as seismic and data acquisition)  such as    pre-stack depth migration algorithm like Kirchhoff, Beam, Kirchhoff least square migration or RTM (Reversed Time Migration) could  help increasing the East African reserves volumetric calculations.

These types of technology  will create a need for workers with a background in geology, geophysics, reservoir engineering and well completion engineering  and Geosciences.

So if you are those companies that  don’t want to change the way that you develop and train your people to use new software and new technology in the oil and gas industry, You are going to be left behind.

  1.  Regulatory changes

With new regulations and the need for compliance, the oil and gas industry will require those with expertise in compliance and regulations such as regulatory professionals. Also, today’s oil and gas workers  must be aware of the regulatory and compliance of existing  and planned oil and gas projects.

  1. Construction employment tied up in oil and gas industry

The development of liquefied natural gas (LNG) facilities and oil and gas pipelines in East Africa creates needs for project leaders and  project managers and engineers

Although Tanzania is in the early-stage planning and development  of a new liquefied natural gas (LNG) export facility. This LNG  project  will have an increasing requirement for  project and construction managers, project engineers and regulatory professionals as well as the  expertise of expatriates  who have planned  and developed  LNG in other parts of the world

 Final Words

These trends have  long term impact on the oil and gas industry workforce and human capacity development frameworks in East Africa by adopting performance improvement mindset  across the industry and ensuring training programs offered  are directly linked to organizations goals, objectives and  visions.

To address challenges and opportunities in East Africa, local oil and gas industry requires  new arrays of skills, knowledge and expertise for workers. By realizing how the technology, financial constraints and market competition  is impacting our local oil and gas industry.

And if you are a regular reader of our articles, you know that  one of my biggest goals for Tanzania Petroleum is for us to become the knowledge body of East African oil and gas industry and raise the performance standards of work competence of Tanzania and East Africa oil and gas industry to become world-class and internationally competitive. So we address these challenges by developing and training professionals to improve their performance at work place, increase staff productivity and enhance business profitability.

Addressing Skills Shortage and Underperformance In East African Oil and Gas

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When we talk about the skills shortage, people think it refers to a lack of people willing to work in the oil and gas industry.

But this is only a challenge in some parts of the oil and gas producing world.

The oil and gas industry is attractive careers for East Africans

If you were a young man in Tanzania, Mozambique, Uganda, and East Africa, your whole family will be happy if you get a job in the oil and gas industry because they know it is prosperity, traveling the world, money and full blown medical insurance for them and the families.

Read also:

Is Swala Oil and Gas Driving Hard Towards 2020

Taking Training and Development in Tanzania’s Oil and Gas Beyond the Conventional Way

The skills shortage refers to a lack of enough skills, knowledge, and expertise to deliver higher productivity, innovation and performance standards needed.

The oil and gas industry is an industry in which operational safety, productivity, and performance are paramount.

What happens if we don’t have enough people to deliver the productivity and high-performance standard needed?

We are going to increase overall operation cost, we are going to delay productions and we are going to have a few local leaders of the oil and gas industry to shift the industrialization. And whole East African oil and gas industry will become less profitable.

Tanzania Petroleum is working on something to address this. One of my biggest goals of Tanzania petroleum is for us to be the knowledge body of the East African oil and gas industry, raise the performance standards of workforce competence of Tanzania and East African oil and gas industry to become world-class and internally competitive.

Is Swala Oil and Gas Driving Hard Towards 2020

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If Swala was a person, its nickname would be “The Survivor” for its ability to sustain itself during uncertain market conditions and remain active in Tanzania despite the global industry’s crash from 2014 to 2017.

Swala Oil and Gas (Tanzania) is another operator with drilling plan in Tanzania. We have been watching Swala’s development in Tanzania for almost five years now. And here we bring to you its Tanzanian projects. But before we go too far, let’s give you the company background, first.

Swala Oil and Gas (Tanzania) is an East African company focused on oil and gas exploration in the region. Swala was one of the early movers in Tanzania that took advantage of unexplored onshore oil blocks in the region.

Swala owns 75% interest of the Kilosa-Kilombero license. At kilosa-Kilombero, Swala has identified a prospect called Kito.

Read also:  Is Aminex Getting Ready To Supply the Much-Needed Gas In Tanzania

Kito has a lot of similarities with the Lokichar Basin in Kenya where Tullow has discovered massive oil reserves. Swala is committed to drilling one well in the Kilombero-Kilosa license in Morogoro region.

The drilling project of Kito-1 well has been frequently postponed. Originally planned for 2016, after the delay in obtaining permit, it was postponed to 2017. And last year, the drilling programs were postponed to Q4 2019.

In fact, Swala is keen on taking advantage of the economic developments happening in the country that drive gas demand growth in Tanzania.

In February 2018, at the company’s annual general meeting presentation, Swala’s Chief Executive Officer (CEO), David Mestres Ridge, says:

“Continued economic growth requires growth in delivered gas volumes and Swala is aiming to play a role in that continued economic development.”

         What was Expected of Swala in 2019

As you can see in the image below, 2019 was supposed to be a busy year for Swala Oil and Gas (Tanzania) PLC and it is expected to see that the drilling of Kito-1 well starts in 4Q 2019.

2019 Swala’s work program

Source: Swala company’s website

What the Future Holds for Swala

Our analysis is that, step by step, day by day, Swala is moving closer to the drilling event and becoming another gas producer in Tanzania meeting the ever-growing energy demand in the region.

We hope to witness Swala Oil and Gas (Tanzania) PLC announce the drilling programs of Kito-1 well as the company continues to remain active in Tanzania despite the global oil and gas industry downturn. Year 2020 could be the drilling year of the long awaited Kito-1 drilling project.

An Investor’s Guide to Tanzania downstream Petroleum Product Market

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Most people do not understand how the total oil and gas supply chain real works.

The oil and gas industry is divided into three sub-sectors: upstream, midstream and downstream sub-sector of the oil and gas industry.

The upstream portion of the industry is involved in finding areas with oil and gas resources. They get oil and natural gas out of the ground. They are often called exploration and production companies.

Midstream part is involved in the transportation and storage of oil and natural gas from the area they found them to where it can be refined and processed. And downstream segment covers everything from distributing and marketing of the oil and gas-related products.

. Overview of Tanzania’s downstream Petroleum Product Market

Tanzania downstream petroleum products market focuses on three main activities: importation, storage transportation, wholesale and retail distribution of petroleum products such as liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), lubricants, diesel, petrol, and kerosene.

Diesel is the top consumed petroleum products in Tanzania, this is because many economic activities such as transportation rely on this fuel.

According to the Energy Water and Utilities Regulatory Authority (EWURA), the consumption of diesel has increased by 7% percent in 2018.

However, the consumption of kerosene and heavy oil fuel is decreasing due to the alternative source for power generation such as natural gas.

Here are three main activities involved in the downstream petroleum sub sectors.

                      1. Importation

Natural gas is abundant in Tanzania. But the country does not produce oil, so it is a net importer of all petroleum products for the servicing of the economy. It is important to keep in mind that the region is only importing petroleum products and not crude oil because there are no refinery activities since 1999.

Most of oil marketing companies import petroleum products via port facilities of Dar es salaam. A portion of petroleum products are distributed to the local market, and the rest is distributed to the neighboring countries such mainly, Rwanda, Burundi, DRC Congo, and Uganda.

                                             2. Storage 

The next activity in the Tanzanian downstream sector is storage.

The storage facilities of petroleum products are owned by both oil marketing companies (OMCs) and Tanzania International Petroleum reserves Limited(previously, Tanzania Italian Petroleum Reserves limited TIPER).

For security purposes the ownership of storage depots have left to the hand of few oil marketing companies(OMCs).Interested oil marketing companies access the storage facilities through a hospitality agreement with depot owners.

                        

                                  3 Transportation

Transportation involves moving petroleum products from one place to another.

While there a variety of modes of transporting petroleum products such as pipelines, railways, and oceans.

But the most widely used mode of transportation petroleum product in Tanzania is through road

Technically speaking, the road is the most unsafe way to transport petroleum products, Transporting petroleum products may involve illegal activities such as mixing of petroleum products,

                                          Marketing Channels

In downstream sub-sector, two ways are used to get petroleum products to end-user customers

 1. Wholesale Activities

It involves buying petroleum products and sell to end-users such as power generation plants, industrial customers and factories, government agencies and trucking companies

2.Retail Activities                      

It involves buying bulk petroleum products such as diesel, kerosene, LPG, and lubricants and sell to final consumers through petrol stations or private shops.

                                Regulatory Frameworks

The oil and gas industry is very regulatory. And the regulator of Tanzania’s downstream sector is Energy Water and Utilities Regulatory Authority (EWURA),

For example, oil marketing companies company interested to run wholesale business must acquire a wholesale license from EWURA

                          Major Players in Tanzania’s Downstream Sub- Sector

Multinational oil marketing companies are leading Tanzania’s downstream sub-sector

According to the Energy Water and Utilities Regulatory Authority (EWURA), Oil marketing companies with the largest petroleum sales market share in the period of July 2017 to June 2018 are Oryx Energies (15.5%), Puma (14.4%), GBP (13.3%), Total (8.5%), Camel Oil (5.8%) and Moil (5.3%)). These firms dominating 62.9% of the market. 

Final Words

I believe “performance matter” in the oil and gas industry, So I dedicated to helping people and organizations improve their performance by both increases their productivity, maintain their competitive advantage and enhance the business profitability and ultimately make a greater impact and greater contribution: To their co-workers. To their clients. And to the community

Oil and Gas Drilling Training and Courses

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Have you ever heard that  stuck pipe is one of the most important problems you will find in the oil industry. It is estimated that approximately US$ 2 billion are wasted annually on stuck pipe. Furthermore, it is believed that 80 to 85 % of these stuck pipe incidents are preventable.

Have you ever heard  that 99% of the wells drilled these days are directional wells?

If your answer is “Yes” to any of the above questions, then pay attention.

Here at Tanzaniapetroleum , we believe that “performance matter” in the oil and gas industry.

We have introduced new drilling courses to help people and organizations, make bigger impact and greater contribution to their co-workers, to their clients and to their communities and ultimately reduce cost, improved productivity , regain public confidence and maintain competitive advantages in this dynamic industry.

We offer the following courses:

  1. Directional, Horizontal and Multi-Lateral Drilling (Five days course) in which a PC based simulator is used to drill a well in a real life.
  2. Stuck Pipe Prevention & Fishing Operation. (A  stuck pipe is a three days course) which can be extended with two days Fishing and Remedial Operations. This is a course that also can be delivered at the rig site.
  3. Drill String Design: this is also a five day course that focusses on all drill string components and their use and combinations. This can be finetuned to any specific application in a certain

Target Audience

These courses are designed for operator, drilling contractor and service company engineers; drilling supervisors and superintendents. Drilling, production and operations engineers, field supervisors, managers and technical support personnel.

Our Facilitator

Joseph (Jos) Buntinx is an independent well engineering consultant and trainer. He was involved since 1992 in leading the Directional Drilling training courses for Shell E&P in the Netherlands, USA and Brunei. He has also been actively engaged as a consultant for NIRAS, EDS, Gaz de France, Neddrill, Maersk, Crosco, ADCO, Saudi Aramco and Santos. Prior to his current consulting and training role, he was the International Training Manager for Smith International (now Schlumberger) responsible for technical training in all aspects of drilling engineering for personnel in the eastern hemisphere. He was also responsible in setting up the International Training Centre in Heerhugowaard, the Netherlands. From 1986 to 1992 he was the Operations Manager for Smith International in the Netherlands and Denmark, responsible for all directional and MWD operations in the Netherlands and Denmark. His team drilled the first long reach records in the Danish sector of the North Sea.

Joseph Buntinx holds a degree in architecture and civil engineering from the University Hasselt, Belgium and a degree in drilling engineering from the Institut Français du Pétrôle in France

 

Enrolment Procedure, Scheduled Dates and Cost of the Program

For queries regarding Enrolment Scheduled Dates and Cost of the Program, mail us with Program Titles, Product Form, Applicant Name, Company/ College name & Mobile WhatsApp number at Hussein.boffu@tanzaniapetroleum.com or +255655376543

 

 

Linking Training and Development with the Oil and Gas Industry Needs

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From the first day I entered the oil and gas industry, I have been told that the industry needs competency. It is an industry in which safety, productivity, and performance are paramount.

So I believe “being better matter” in this dynamic industry. The simple truth is that, despite downsizing, restructuring, and cost-cutting, oil and gas companies now place a huge premium on productivity and high performance of the workforce.

What will happen if you have limited people to deliver productivity and high performance needed?

What will happen if the training programs and university curriculum you offer do not result in performance improvement?

The answer is pretty simple. Oil and gas companies’ shareholders will spend hundreds of thousands of dollars to keep expensive experts on staff. Companies will lose market share because of poor performance and low productivity. And you will produce few local leaders of the oil and gas industry and they will unable to leading the industrialization phases execution accordingly

                                             Technology Adoption to Drive Operational Efficiency

The oil and gas industry is changing. So must we. There is the introduction of new software applications and the growth of high technology.

New technology like the internet of things, machine learning, artificial intelligence are transforming the entire oil and gas industry, From upstream, through transportation and storage to downstream utilization and finance.

Read also: Taking Training and Development in Tanzania’s Oil and Gas Beyond the Conventional Way

Those technologies are still black boxes for the users in the oil and gas industry and train and developing the users of those high-end technologies could help reduce costs, improve production and regain public confidence

How do you modernize the human capacity development framework to ensure that are caught up to speed with the latest technology?

How do you build top performing people who are problem solvers and result oriented? How do you produce world-class graduates who can compete for the job both at home and overseas?

                New Revolutionary Approach In Training And Development

Training and development of the human capacity in the oil and gas industry are not just providing texts, or throw-out ideas and or distribute training documents, colorful or black to put them on shelves and to have practiced afterward.

Training is not bringing examples from the Gulf of Mexico to develop people; they are living around Indian or the Atlantic Ocean in Eastern or Western parts of our continent.

Training should help the trainees to solve the issues they face in their territory around if they do have challenges across East African oil and gas industry onshore, offshore and

The sad reality is that the traditional way of training and development in the oil and gas industry focuses on what people must learn (training) versus what they can do on the job (performance)

In traditional training ways courses are offered for many reasons. For example, Management or Human resources manager can decide to run an HSE training program because everyone in this industry conducting this program. And so it makes sense for the company to do likewise

The traditional way of training work like this send our supervisor for supervisory training and once they back will perform. Or run a petroleum engineering program at a local university and young people will be employable upon graduation.

The traditional type of training and development lacks alignment between the training programs offered and the organization’s goals or industry needs. Nobody is responsible to ensure the new skills and knowledge gained in training will apply to the job.

The evaluation is only conducted at the end of the course of training sessions. Such evaluation does not collect data to ensure the skills and knowledge of training are applicable to the job

This results in many headaches and hassles that most oil and gas companies and countries are forced to go through. The problems range from reduced market share to low productivity and poor performance

                                                  

Adopt A Performance Improvement Mindset.

Challenges and opportunities in East Africa should be addressed through developing local resources, capacities and finding collaborative solutions and prepare East African students to be world-class graduates and training and developing the East African young professionals and move them from just users to top performers and professional Specialists.

With oil price being low for a long time, it is important decision-makers, HR managers, and managers adopt a performance improvement mindset in dealing with performance in their organizations and across the oil and gas industry.

System thinking approach to performance requirement that is directly linked to the operational and industry needs will enable them to analyze and understand the reasons for poor performance.