An aerial view of large liquefied natural gas storage tanks at a depot. Tanzania has proven natural gas reserves of 57 trillion cubic feet, with at least 49.5 trillion cubic feet of these far offshore in the Indian Ocean. Talks for exploitation of the resource are ongoing. PHOTO | FILE
Fresh discussions on the HGA over the multibillion-dollar project are being held in Arusha, northern Tanzania, after the negotiating teams finalised preliminary talks last November.
After being in limbo for nearly two years, preliminary discussions on the HGA resumed in November 2021 with assurances from the new Minister of Energy January Makamba.
In November 2021, while opening a fresh HGA discussions, Mr Makamba told stakeholders that the government was committed to having the Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) project implemented.
The negotiations are expected to proceed by discussing every stage of the project. The discussions will also address the nature of Tanzania Petroleum Development Corporation participation, fiscal framework, including tax exemptions, stability of terms and local content.
“The discussions with the government are vital in co-creating a stable fiscal, legal and regulatory framework to enable a global competitive project and further investments by the LNG investors,” said Ola Morten Aanestad, spokesperson of International Upstream. By BEATRICE MATERU, The East African
