Trade Mission Explores Business Opportunities in Tanzania

Members of the Energy Chamber's Trade Mission got the opportunity to see first-hand the gas to power project in the town of Mtwara, in southern Tanzania, close to the border with Mozambique.    While this is a small project, generating just 12MW of power, it is a significant development, as it represents the first commercial production from the Mnazi Bay gas field.  This gas field was discovered way back in 1982, but was never able to result in a commercial project.  The area is remote, being some 400 km south of the Tanzania commercial hub in Dar es Salaam, and with a low population density.  To get to the project, our hosts from the Tanzania Petroleum Development Corporation (TPDC) charter a single engine light plane to fly us to the site: and we had to rush back in order to be back in Dar before it was dark.

According to the TPDC the Mnazi Bay gas field holds significant reserves of an estimated 2.2 tcf of gas, but with no market these reserves have yet to be fully developed.  The Government of Tanzania is looking at various options and officials were pleased to talk to the members of the delegation from the Energy Chamber about how we have developed our gas reserves in Trinidad & Tobago.  These discussions continued into the evening, over a dinner with key Government officials and other stakeholders hosted by the Trinidad & Tobago High Commissioner, Patrick Edwards, on the hotel lawn, back in Dar es Salaam.

Earlier in the day, our visit to Mtwara also included a low altitude fly-by of the new service port facilities established to support the upcoming offshore drilling campaign by BG.  The service port looked nicely organized, with chemical and mud tanks in place and drill pipe neatly stacked.  The drilling campaign is due to kick-off in the very near future, with TPDC officials talking of very significant major new gas finds, in the multiple tcf range.   There are clearly many opportunities for Trinidad & Tobago companies, as Tanzania seeks to develop its potentially significant gas reserves.

The Energy Chamber's Trade Mission means that participating companies are now well placed to take advantage of these opportunities.