Why Investors Should Be Ready for New Petrol Regime

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The Petroleum Act 2015, the Tanzania Extractive Industry (Transparency and Accountability) Act 2015, and the Oil and Gas Revenues Management Act 2015 are conceivably the most controversial in recent years, given the sweeping reforms these pieces of legislation seek to bring to the Tanzanian petroleum industry, which is projected to be the single largest contributor to the national economy.

Passed under certificate of urgency before the end of the 20th session of the National Assembly last July, these Acts have just been assented to by President Jakaya Mrisho Kikwete on 4th August 2015. The Acts, it is hoped by the Government of Tanzania (GoT), will update and consolidate existing enactments for the petroleum industry.

The introduction and passing of the Acts can be traced to the emergency of competing petroleum investment opportunities in other sub-Saharan African countries, most notably Kenya, Uganda, Egypt, Algeria, Ghana, Nigeria, Angola, and Mozambique; and, according to press reports, the fear of losing investors to these countries.

At the outset, it should be pointed out that building accountability and trust by increasing openness and transparency in administering and managing the petroleum industry cannot be overstated. As such, the Tanzania Extractive Industry (Transparency and Accountability) Act 2015 will be largely viewed as positive by all stakeholders.

It appears, however, that the effectiveness of the Tanzania Extractive Industry (Transparency and Accountability) Act 2015 is watered down by the provision which requires the publication of all concessions, contracts and licences relating to the extractive industries, including oil and gas. Non-compliance is a criminal offence, which attracts a stiffer pecuniary fine of Tshs.150 million (approximately, US$75,000) for companies.

This provision is expected to become a bone of contention between the GoT and international oil and gas investors, since it’s not clear if all the signed Production Sharing Agreements (PSAs) will need to be published, considering the confidentiality clauses contained in the PSAs and MDAs. It will be interesting to see how the provision will be actually applied.

For purposes of restructuring the country’s petroleum institutional framework, the new legislation establishes and, in some instances, re-establishes the following authorities, institutions, and funds: l Oil and Gas Bureau – This is an independent department, under the Office of the President, mandated to advise the Cabinet on strategic and commercial aspects of the country’s oil and gas economy.

 

Petroleum industry regulators – A new regulatory authority, the Petroleum Upstream Regulatory Authority (PURA), will oversee the upstream petroleum sub-sector and perform audits of the cost recovery on the exploration, development, production and sale of oil and gas in order to determine government profit share and royalties (rents). Already well-known by industry stakeholders, the Energy, Water and Utilities Regulatory Authority (EWURA) is re-established but with a new role: regulatory oversight over the midstream and downstream petroleum subsector.

Tanzania Extractive Industry (Transparency and Accountability) Committee – This is an autonomous body responsible for promoting and enhancing transparency and accountability and ensuring that the benefits of the extractive industries are verified, duly accounted for, and prudently utilised for the advantage of Tanzanians.

The National Oil Company (NOC) – The Tanzania Petroleum Development Corporation (TPDC) is designated as the NOC and will exclusively manage the GoT’s commercial interests and involvement in petroleum projects. TPDC will participate in petroleum reconnaissance, aggregate natural gas, own and operate major gas infrastructure either directly or via subsidiaries, and collect and account for non-tax oil and gas revenues, surface rentals and block fees.

Two funds are proposed for the industry – The Oil and Gas Fund, established under the Oil and Gas Revenues Management Act 2015, will be responsible for maintaining fiscal and macroeconomic stability, enhancing social and economic development, and safeguarding resources for future generations. A Decommissioning Fund is also established under the Petroleum Act 2015, and international oil and gas investors will need to factor payments to this fund into their costs.

Besides restructuring the institutional framework, the new legislation seeks to re-organise the regulatory framework for the petroleum industry. Accordingly, PURA, responsible for regulating the upstream petroleum sub-sector, will oversee the processing, granting, renewal, suspension and cancellation of exploration, development and production licences for the NOC (TPDC); implement local content programmes; facilitate the resolution of complaints and disputes; and deal with other issues relating to the management of petroleum areas, private sector entity partnerships with TPDC, and reservation of blocks for TPDC.

In that regard, a registry of petroleum agreements, licenses, permit authorisations and any change in interest of an existing petroleum agreement, license or permit will be established and maintained by PURA.

International oil and gas investors should be aware that any purported transfer or assignment of an interest which is not authorized by the Minister of Energy and Minerals is in vain.

 

Additionally, investors should note that, as the NOC, TPDC will be given the first right of refusal to acquire a participating interest intended to be transferred or assigned to a non-affiliate.

A domestic gas supply obligation is imposed on license holders to satisfy the domestic market in Tanzania from their proportional share of production, but how this will actually operate remains imprecise.

This obligation, which is directed towards improving Tanzania’s perennially poor power system and assisting local industrialisation, will be considered by most Tanzanians as deserving of praise.

 
 

For the midstream and downstream petroleum subsector, EWURA will have similar regulatory oversight roles like PURA: issuing, renewing, suspending, and cancelling construction approvals and operational licenses; collecting fees and levies in accordance with the EWURA Act; approving applications for tariffs and prices; promoting the use of local goods and services; and ensuring the maximum participation of Tanzanians in every part of the petroleum value chain.

Using the National Petroleum and Gas Information System (NPGIS), a strategic planning tool, EWURA is, under the Petroleum Act 2015, mandated to let the public know, periodically, about the status of the industry.

A key part of the NPGIS will be the Central Registry of Petroleum Operations (CRPO). TPDC will designate one of its subsidiaries to exclusively purchase, collect and sell natural gas from producers.

The subsidiary, called the aggregator, will be licensed by EWURA. This implies that international oil and gas investors may not have the need to set up separate legal entities for marketing and distribution purposes.

Moreover, these investors must give serious consideration to how they will interact with the aggregator. As mentioned previously, TPDC has exclusive rights over petroleum in the upstream sub-sector, but it does not have such rights in the midstream and downstream sub-sector.

So, international oil and gas investors can find processing, transportation and storage; liquefaction, shipping and re-gasification; and distribution opportunities in the midstream and downstream sub-sector, without concluding partnership arrangements with TPDC.

 

Tariffs for transportation and distribution of gas are set by EWURA, however, concerns about the viability of petroleum operations in Tanzania means that international oil and gas investors will be expecting EWURA to consult them in setting tariffs.

In discharging their regulatory responsibilities, PURA and EWURA are to act in accordance with the Tanzania Development Vision 2025, the Energy Policy 2003, the Natural Gas Policy 2013 and a yet-to-be finalized Local Content Policy.

Locally produced goods and services are required to be given first consideration by a license holder, and where such goods and services are unavailable, the same are to be provided by a foreign company which has a joint venture arrangement with a Tanzanian company.

The objective here, it is understood, is to help improve the competitiveness of Tanzanians in the global marketplace by giving them access to advanced technology and management experience when they work in consortia with foreign companies.

It is obvious that petroleum projects require access to land. Under the Petroleum Act 2015, TPDC is considered as the only entity which will have land rights and facilities in the upstream sub-sector.

The President is empowered to grant a right of occupancy over land to a license holder, assumed to be TPDC; however, where the corporate vehicle is a joint venture between TPDC and a foreign entity as the majority shareholder, there may be issues with respect to foreign ownership of land, which is prohibited under the land laws of Tanzania.

In such a scenario, in order to obtain rights over land for upstream petroleum activities, a key question is whether the joint venture with TPDC would have to be registered under the Tanzania Investment Centre (TIC)?

From a fiscal perspective, the main objective of international oil and gas companies and the GoT investing in or permitting operations in the petroleum industry is to derive revenue. That’s why changes and developments in the Tanzanian tax regime are important.

Very briefly, the Petroleum Act 2015 makes provision for payment of annual licence fees and bonuses to TPDC (upon on signing of the relevant agreement and on commencement of production) as well as all other relevant taxes, including capital gains tax in respect of a corporate reorganization and withholding tax on interest payments of loans.

BY Paul Kibuuka, is the Managing Partner of Kibuuka Law Chambers. 

A gift for You! Free download Essential Guide to Oil and Gas

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Yes, to day i have free gift for you

Our gift is  e-book and its known as “Essentials guide to oil and gas” it will help you to gain the general over view of oil and natural gas field.

This e-book will help those wish  to join petroleum industry but have background unrelated to oil and gas industry and also to those who are already deal with oil and natural gas industry but are very interesting in updating  their skills and knowledge.As i said early, in order to have successful career in petroleum industry  you need to develop the habit of lifelong learning.

You should  read it, because  the ebook is very short and presented in simple  language  to make the concept easy to understand and  remember.

 

Read or download via link below: [gview file=”http://tanzaniapetroleum.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/oil-and-gas1.pdf”]

Top share picks for Q4

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With the third quarter of 2015 being the worst three-month period for global stockmarkets in four years, investors will hope the first day of October rings in a more profitable fourth. Just to make sure, one broker has been tinkering with its portfolio, bringing in some interesting growth plays and ditching one of Britain’s best-known blue chips.

Despite outperforming the market by 9.2% in the quarter to September, Panmure Gordon admits that the performance of its ‘Conviction List’ portfolio is “hardly a great result” against a market that fell 9.1%. As investors processed the impact of the slowing Chinese economy, the MSCI Global Index fell 11.2% in the period. Analyst Jeremy Grime also points to “a couple of true mistakes” in the commodities sector.

However, it wasn’t all doom and gloom, with some relief found in the Federal Reserve leaving interest rates unchanged – Panmure expects a December hike – and solid growth in the UK, US and Eurozone setting the world economy up for nearly 3% growth this year. And although the portfolio didn’t break any trends in the last quarter, it has outperformed the Datastream UK market index by 114% since 2010, with a capital return of 147%.

With potential upside of nearly 20%, it’s little wonder the analysts have added Berkshire-based software technology company Micro Focus (MCRO) to their fourth quarter Conviction List at 1,200p. Panmure reckons the group, which is a member of Interactive Investor’s Summer Portfolio, could be worth 1,438p if it implements greater divisional transparency and its Amsterdam conference in October goes well.

In 2014, total revenue nearly doubled to $834.5 million at constant currency, and, although adjusted cash profit beat expectations with an 86% leap to $357.6 million, pre-tax profit fell 38% to $91.4 million due to the purchase of US software rival The Attachmate Group. “The current ratings are a c33% discount to the sector, and do not give the company any credit for its continued strong operational performance, nor cash returns – we expect those next year,” says Panmure. Buy.

Explorer with 60% upside

Joining Micro Focus in the portfolio is pub chain Greene King (GNK) and Tanzania-based oil and gas explorerWentworth Resources (WRL). With a target price of 50p, the analysts reckon Wentworth has over 60% upside. Valuing Greene King at 1,015p, the pub chain’s shares could be worth an extra 30%.

Panmure’s portfolio doesn’t just contain long positions. Betting on the likelihood that the following shares could plummet, it has added engineer Rolls-Royce (RR.) and booze chain Majestic Wine (MJW) to its short holdings. At 651p, Panmure reckons Rolls is worth 16% less at 520p, while the wine merchant is overvalued by about 14%.

Just four days into his tenure as boss of Rolls, Warren East issued his first profits warning at the iconic engineer. We warned recently that things could be about to get a lot worse as trading conditions continue to deteriorate and commodities continue to suffer, especially after the further sharp depreciation of emerging market currencies. Clearly, Panmure has the same thinking.

The broker ejects more companies than it lets in this quarter, with the low oil price blamed for two exits –Anglo American (AAL) and Faroe Petroleum (FPM). With global turmoil and cheap oil wiping the shares out, Anglo has crashed by 39% and Faroe by a quarter. “We got it wrong,” confesses the analyst.

Also leaving its long-holding portfolio are travel agent Thomas Cook (TCG), hi-fi manufacturer Focusrite (TUNE) and recruiter Robert Walters (RWA), all of which are “stale”. After Thomas Cook failed to deliver the upgrades investors were pining for, a sell-off leaves the stock trading 15% lower in the three months to June 2015. With no earnings upgrades, Focusrite’s shares have drifted down 6% and Robert Walters has struggled against a declining market and the shares are flat.

Closing its short position on Fenner (FENR) and Morgan Advanced (MGAM) after a fall of 20% and 12.4% respectively, the broker wants to crystallise its profits as the shares near their target price.

With 17 stocks now in its portfolio, Panmure has long positions on Allergy Therapeutics (AGY) (Buy, TP 47p),Chemring (CHG) (Buy, TP 294p), GLI Finance (GLIF) (Buy, TP 71p), Greene King (GNK) (Buy, TP 1,015p),Hammerson (HMSO) (Buy, TP 825p), Hansard Global (HSD) (Buy, TP 120p), Imperial Tobacco (IMT) (Buy, TP 3,730p), Informa (INF) (Buy, TP 650p), Micro Focus (Buy, TP 1,438p), RPC Group (RPC) (Buy, TP 828p),Ryanair (RYA) (Buy, TP€16.5), Shaftesbury (SHB) (Buy, TP 1,106p) and Wentworth Resources (Buy, TP 48p), with short positions on Majestic Wine (Sell, TP 320p) and Rolls-Royce (Sell, TP 520p).

This article is for information and discussion purposes only and does not form a recommendation to invest or otherwise. The value of an investment may fall. The investments referred to in this article may not be suitable for all investors, and if in doubt, an investor should seek advice from a qualified investment adviser.

Mining, oil threaten most of Africa’s natural heritage sites – group

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a3f308aeac97491a8a01110776a93b6aLondon – Mining, oil and gas exploration poses a threat to 61% of Africa’s Unesco-approved Natural World Heritage Sites and nearly one-third of sites worldwide, the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) conservation group said on Thursday.

“Our research shows that intrusion into natural World Heritage Sites is especially high in Africa, where 61% of these precious areas are subject to some form of extractive concession or activity,” WWF said in a report.

The report found that extraction concessions or activity affect 25 of Africa’s 41 World Heritage sites.

Worldwide, 70 of 229, or 31%, of natural World Heritage Sites are under threat, it said.

 

“We are going to the ends of the earth in pursuit of more resources,” said David Nussbaum, chief executive of WWF in Britain, adding that minerals, oil and gas “are becoming more difficult and more expensive to extract.”

The report urges investors to help safeguard natural sites by ensuring “responsible conduct” by the companies in which they invest.

WWF’s findings flagged Tanzania’s 50 000km2Selous game reserve, a World Heritage Site since 1982 that “covers an area larger than Denmark and is one of the few remaining examples in Africa of a relatively uninhabited and undisturbed natural area.”

But legislation passed in 2009 allowed licensing of mineral extraction inside Tanzania’s game reserves.

Since then, five active mines, more than 50 mining concessions and six oil and gas concessions have sprung up that “could potentially impact the Selous game reserve,” according to the report.

“The reserve was added to the World Heritage danger list in 2014 in part due to concerns regarding extractive activities within the reserve,” it said.

Changamoto Mafunzo ya Mafuta na Gesi Vyuo Vya Tanzania

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imgresLicha ya vyuo vingi nchini kuendelea kutoa mafunzo ya elimu ya gesi na  mafuta kwa vijana wa kitanzania bado kuna changamoto nyingi sana kwenye utoaji  wa mafunzo hayo.  Vyuo kama Chuo Kikuu cha Dar es Salaam (UDSM), Chuo kikuu cha Dodoma (UDOM), chuo cha  madini Dodoma(MRI)   chuo cha madini Shinyanga (ESIS)  na Chuo  Kikuu cha Nelson Mandela ndio vyuo pekee Tanzania vinavyotoa mafunzo ya mafuta na gesi

Leo tutaona ni changamoto gani ambazo  elimu na mafunzo haya yanakabiliwa nazo.

Utafiti wa hali halisi ya mafunzo ya mafuta na gesi uliofanywa na Shirika la Maendeleo na Ushirikiano la Norway (NORAD) umeonyesha kwamba elimu na mafunzo ya gesi na mafuta yanayotolewa na vyuo vikuu nchini yanakabiliwa na changamoto zifuatazo: Mafunzo yamejikita sana kwenye eneo la utafutaji na uzalishaji, na kuacha maeneo mengine kama uhifadhi na usafirishaji; ukosefu wa walimu wenye ujuzi; ukosefu wa maabara na vifaa; na kuegemea kwenye nadharia zaidi kuliko vitendo.

Nini Kifanyike?

Kinachotakiwa hapa ni wanafunzi wanasoma taaluma hii ya mafuta na  gesi nchini wajiongeze wenyewe kutafuta maarifa zaidi  ili waweze kuwa bora katika taaluma hii. Wengi inapofikia hatua hii huanza kulalamika, wengine hulaumu  mfumo mzima wa nchi, huku wakijisahau wao wenyewe kuwa wanatakiwa wachukue hatua.

Kikukweli sekata hii kwa Tanzania bado ni changa sana  na inagharimu sana hadi tufikie viwango vya kimataifa. Na huende ikachujua muda sana hadi tufikie viwango vya ukweli kama Norway.

Sasa chagua moja, ujiongeze mwenyewe ili uweze kuwa bora au uendelee kulalamika huku unazidi kudidimia kwenye taaluma yako.

Hizi changamoto sijahadithiwa nazijua kwa kuwa na mimi nimesoma taaluma hizi tena hapa hapa Tanzania na nilikutana nazo.

I

License Round Announcements and Updates At The 22nd Africa Oil Week 2015, Cape Town

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CAPE TOWN, SOUTH AFRICA, October 1, 2015 EINPresswire.com/ — Global Pacific & Partners will host the 22nd Africa Oil Week/Africa Upstream Conference 2015, in JV partnership with ITE Group plc, 26th– 30th October, in Cape Town, South Africa.

This meeting commands unique global reputation as the most important in or on Africa, with 120+ Speakers, 150 + Exhibitors, 40+ Governments – and with over 30+ African National Oil Companies, plus official licensing agencies, and over 1,000+ key senior oil and gas industry executives and state oil officials from across or involved in Africa, currently confirmed to attend.

The Africa Oil Week is trusted worldwide as the only global venue for “one-stop” Licensing Round Announcements, Government Roadshows, and Corporate Showcase – along with rich-content and quality senior executive attendees providing direct opportunity for acreage and asset transactions, deal-making, networking, corporate partnership, new venture initiation, and high-level government relations.

Congo License Round 2016: HE Jean-Marc Thystere Tchicaya, Ministre des Hydrocarbures de la République du Congo supported by PGS, will make a keynote presentation and open the 2016 Licence Round and will host the Congo Roadshow during the Africa Oil Week with Ministerial, DGH and SNPC Delegations in attendance, and supported by PGS.

Gabon License Round Announcement: HE Etienne Dieudonne Ngoubou, Minister of Petroleum and Hydrocarbons, Gabon will be announcing the Gabon Deepwater License Round 2016. The Minister will be at the 22nd Africa Oil Week, with the Government Delegation in attendance, supported by CGG.

Ghana: The Petroleum Commission, Ghana joins as a Sponsor of the 22nd Africa Oil Week 2015. Theo Ahwireng, Chief Executive Officer, Petroleum Commission, Ghana will be present with a Ghanian delegation and the Commission will exhibit.

INP: Carlos Zacarais, Chairman, Instituto Nacional do Petroleo (INP), Mocambique, is confirmed to present at the 22nd Africa Oil Week, with an INP delegation present and also participating in the exhibition.

Kenya: The Ministry of Energy, Kenya, will be in attendance to present plans for future licensing.

Morocco: Onhym will be presenting and has confirmed presence at the Exhibition

New Sponsors: PetroSA, Vinson & Elkins, Wood Group, PSN

New Exhibitors: MGGS, Transnet National Ports Authority, Government of Alberta (Canada), CBH, CapMarine, GAMA Industrial Plants, Red Sea Housing Services, Horizon Geosciences, Stormgeo, RSI Geophysical, Vinson & Elkins, Ethiopia, McDermott, Geospace, Sonangol*, Bell Geospace, Cameron, ONHYM, Friburge Oil & Gas

The 22nd Africa Oil Week encompasses: the 13th Africa Independents Forum, 17th Scramble for Africa Strategy Briefing (Presentations by Dr Duncan Clarke, Chairman, Global Pacific & Partners) and 71st PetroAfricanus Dinner In Africa with social networking occasions, breakfasts, luncheons, dinners, and cocktail receptions.

Government & Country Presentations and Participation includes: Equatorial Guinea with Minister, Gabon with Minister and Ministry Delegation, Ghana, Mocambique, Egypt, Kenya, Uganda, Nigeria-Sao Tome & Principe JDA, Somalia with Minister, South Africa, Seychelles, Madagascar, Morocco, Ethiopia, Senegal, Namibia, AGC (Senegal-Guinea-Bissau), Malawi, The Gambia – plus with Bid Rounds and Roadshow Announcements from:Republic of Congo, with Minister, Government Delegation and SNPC-DGH, and Republic of Gabon – plus with Government Delegations from Sonangol and Angola, Madagascar, South Sudan, Sao Tome & Principe, and many others, as well as with Speakers Africa-wide on Cameroon, Nigeria, Tanzania, Comoros, Mauritania, Sierra Leone, Liberia, Chad, Zimbabwe, India in Africa, Japan in Africa, China in Africa, Statoil in Africa, United States in Africa, Canada in Africa, and African Development Bank, IFC, TSX, JSE, and Nipex.

Sponsors

ACAS-LAW, Africa Finance Corporation, Africa Oil Corp., Africa Petroleum Corp., AirFrance / KLM, Anadarko Petroleum Corporation, Centurion LLP, Chevron, Discover Exploration, ENI, Erin Energy, ExxonMobil, GEPetrol Equatorial Guinea, GreenbergTraurig, IHC Mercedes Holdings, Impact Oil & Gas Ltd, Nedbank Capital, Noble Energy, Oando, Ophir Energy, Petroleum Agency SA, Petroleum Commission Ghana, Petrolin Group, PetroSA, PGS, Pluspetrol, Polarcus, RPS, Rystad Energy, Salama Fikira, Saldanha Bay IDC, Seplat Petroleum, Seven Energy, Shell, TMX / Toronto Stock Exchange, Tullow Oil plc, Total, Veolia, Vinson & Elkins, Woodside Energy, Wood Group PSN

Detailed Program: includes 13th Africa Independents Forum, 17th Scramble for Africa Briefing, 71st PetroAfricanus Dinner in Africa, 22nd Africa Upstream, Africa Oil & Energy Finance Forum, plus Forums on Africa Exploration Technologies, Africa Local Content, and Africa’s Young Professionals

Visit www.africa-oilweek.com

See Why in Tanzania Gas Industry, Transparency is Important

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Recently, transparency become hot in Tanzania’s Oil and gas Sector. Many organisations work hard on launch their findings  to promote transparency in natural gas industry

Yesterday the Friedrich- Ebert -Stiffung (FES)  Tanzania, launched its “Tanzania Oil and Gas Almanac” and present other  tools aimed at promoting  transparency in Tanzania’s oil and gas industry. you can also read: fes launched tanzania oil and gas almanac

Also on september 1st 2015, Twaweza organization released their findings which has shown 77 percent of Citizens want more information on recent natural gas discovered.

Few days ago   Poverty alleviation (REPOA) and Center for global deviation has done research, and their findings shows that most Tanzanians support publishing of all oil and gas contracts and government revenue generated from oil and gas . Read here:citizens of Tanzania support-extracting and selling of natural gas internationally

The key question here is why  these various organizations try hard to promote transparency in  natural gas industry in Tanzania?

They do all of these because transparency is necessarily important for emerging oil and gas producer country like Tanzania.

Now let us See

                           Why transparency is very crucial in Tanzania’s Natural gas industry?

1.Manage public expectations

By citizens being aware of the time frame of production, how big discovery it is, educate them difference between  a discovery and a commercially  proven discovery, we would be able to manage public’s  expectations like massive job creations to  Tanzanians,  you can also read . see why discovery of natural gas in  Tanzania Could not bring too many jobs to Tanzania as they believe

2.Improve fairness to Citizens 

Disclosure of financials data and contracts can help convince both citizens and companies that the process is fair,.

3.Reducing Conflicts

By identify which group require specific communcation including citizens living nearby producing regions, it might reduce conflicts and chaos, what happen in Mtwara was due to lack of right information to the citizens.

4.Public support

Tanzania as a new gas producers, by contract disclosure benefit the country because make the term public available can increase public support for project.

5.Wining the trust of Citizens

Disclosure of information related to tendering and licensing process could raise the citizens confidence as the revenues  generated from the Natural gas industry would not  only stay in the  hand of corrupt leaders and rich men instead will all citizens and country will benefit as whole.

MY FINAL WORDS

Transparency is very  essentials in Tanzania’s Natural gas industry,also engagement of average citizens is particularly important in avoiding conflict.  Also those information should published  in both  swahili and english language so as  can be easily  understod to every one

Dear  readers we love more you comments from all of these.

prepared by Hussein Boffu founder of This site

Fes Launched Tanzania Oil and Gas Almanac

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Dubbed the Tanzania Oil and Gas Almanac, the database will be available in hard copy and on the internet in both Kiswahili and English languages. Speaking at the launch of the portal yesterday, retired Controller and Auditor General (CAG), Mr Ludovick Utouh, was hopeful that the almanac will enhance transparency in the nascent industry.

“The challenge is however to spread the information to people in rural areas who can hardly access the internet,” Mr Utouh noted. The almanac, according to FES Resident Director in Tanzania, Mr Rolf Paasch, will assist the country to promote transparency and accountability in the oil and gas sector.

“It has been created to significantly increase the stock of information available in local contexts among extractive stakeholders including civil society organizations, government, the media and international oil companies,” he explained.

Adding: “Information included in the database has been drawn from publicly available sources. It was created using Media Wiki software, meaning that there will be online database of all updated articles.”

The Chief Editor of the almanac, Mr Abdallah Katunzi, said the portal will provide timely information for the general public, researchers, policy makers and the media, among other stakeholders.

“There are about 16 countries in the world with such a database; lack of information on extractive industry is among challenges the country has been facing,” Mr Katunzi who is a lecturer at the University of Dar es Salaam, noted.

According to Katunzi, study conducted by research organization Twaweza found out that 77 per cent of Tanzanians are not aware of discoveries of natural gas and thus the need for heightened awareness.

“In the study it was found out as well that three out of four Tanzanians had no idea of the existing natural gas policies. The almanac will provide information on all issues to do with the industry,” he explained.

At the same occasion, the Executive Director of Twaweza, Mr Aidan Eyakuze, urged operators of the portal to provide information that can be easily interpreted by users.

“It will play a crucial role for people to obtain information but I urge those operating to ensure they post useful and high quality data,” Mr Eyakuze stressed.

Tanzania has so far discovered more than 55 trillion cubic feet (tcf) of natural gas and exploration is still underway in both offshore and onshore. With the reserve at hand, the country readies itself to join the gas economy.

Solo Oil Ranks Tanzania Assets Highest

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Solo Oil announced Tuesday that its assets in Tanzania represent the most significant investments for the company and revealed that their further development “is being actively pursued”.

The company has a 25 percent stake in the Ruvuma PSA and acquired a 6.5 percent interest in the Kiliwani North Development License in February 2015, with an option to purchase an additional 6.5 percent interest within 30 days of the signature of a gas sales agreement for the produced gas from the KNDL. Solo’s key asset in the Ruvuma PSA is the Ntorya gas-condensate discovery, made in 2012. Ntorya is estimated to contain a gross 158 billion cubic feet of proven gas in place. The Kiliwani North-1 well in the KNDL was drilled by Aminex and its partners in 2008 and discovered gas in a 196 foot column in the Lower Cretaceous. Based on well test results Kiliwani North-1 is expected to be flowed at a rate of up to 30 million cubic feet per day once on-stream.

You can also read: Tpdc has awarded ion contract for Seismic  survey  in Ruvuma Delta Region

Solo Oil posted an operating loss of $564,917 in the first half of 2015, compared to an operating loss of $654,559 recorded during the same period last year. No revenue was registered for the company for the six month period ended June 30, 2015, although Solo Oil expects its assets in Tanzania to contribute to its revenue stream in the future.

 

The changing politics of natural gas in Tanzania

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Lower global oil and gas prices have affected the level of exploration activity in Tanzania, but it has not completely eroded the stronger bargaining position the government has enjoyed in recent years. Major gas finds in various geographical locations combined with a stronger domestic demand means that the petroleum sector in the East African country will continue developing, albeit at a slower pace.

This paper reviews how the Tanzanian politics of oil and gas contract negotiations is changing. By focusing on the broader framework of contracts – including infrastructure, power production, and industrial use – the paper suggests that the focus on revenue maximation that prevails in much literature may skew our understanding of inherently political negotiation processes. Other priorities – and increasingly other actors – affect the price the government can get for its petroleum resources.

The paper by Rasmus Hundsbæk Pedersen, postdoc at DIIS, and Peter Bofin, consultant based in Dar es Salaam, is the second on the negotiation of petroleum contracts in sub-Saharan Africa. The first paper, The Politics of Oil/Gas Contract Negotiations in sub-Saharan Africa, reviewed the general literature on contract negotiations on the continent.