State-owned Tanzania Petroleum Development Corporation (TPDC) has acquired a 20% additional stake in the Mnazi Bay natural gas project. In a deal worth $23.6 million, the acquisition brings the TPDC’s total share in the project to 40%.The TPDC signed the purchase agreement on 10 February with oil company Etablissements Maurel & Prom SA, which operates the field with a stake of 80% and veto power over the project’s operations.
Plans are currently underway for the TPDC and Maurel & Prom to invest an initial $100 million in 2024 to upgrade gas compression infrastructure and boost drilling at the project site.With proven resources of 641 billion cubic feet of natural gas and a production rate of approximately 120 million cubic feet per day, the field accounts for 48% of Tanzania’s current gas output and contributes roughly 600 MW to the country’s national power grid.
The move comes as part of Tanzania’s strategy to increase government participation in strategic projects while boosting natural gas production and exports to neighboring countries including Uganda, Zambia, Kenya and the Democratic Republic of the Congo.“Our direction should be to increase the government’s stake in projects that are doing well, not just in energy but other sectors as well,” Tanzania’s President Samia Suluhu Hassan said during the signing ceremony.
Source: https://energycapitalpower.com