During the latest Oil &Gas conference taking place in Dar Es Salaam, Deputy Minister of Energy and Minerals George Simbachawene announced that official estimates of recoverable natural gas reserves were raised from 28.74 trillion cubic feet (tcf) to 33 following latest large offshore discoveries.

During a recent visit to the British Gas headquarters in the UK, Tanzania’s President Jakaya Kikwete met with the Chief Executive Officer, Sir Frank Chapman, who explained that the group has so far achieved a 100 per cent success rate in this virgin Tanzania exploration basin and that it was extremely encouraging.  

According to the Tanzania Petroleum Development Center (TPDC), plans are in place for a Tanzania oil exploration licensing round to be held this September where 16 offshore blocks will be made available to bidders; details of the plan will be revealed next month.

A joint venture between Camco International and Rex Investment Ltd. (RIL) has been awarded a USD 4.7 million tender by the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC), a US foreign aid agency that works in Tanzania, to distribute and install solar power systems in the rural Kigoma region of Tanzania.

The government of Tanzania is preparing the country’s economy for a significant increase in the country’s foreign investment inflow following the recent discoveries of natural offshore Tanzania gas deposits.

A subsidiary of the BG Group, a British oil and gas firm, recently sent a delegation of their investors to meet with President Jakaya Kikwete in order to discuss their plan to invest USD 500 million in Tanzania gas exploration this year alone, with the intention of investing between USD 10 billion and USD 20 billion in the second half of this decade.

According to a recently released statement from the Bank of Tanzania (BoT), between October 2010 and October 2011 Tanzania gold exports have witnessed a 33 percent increase as a result of an increase in the price of gold on the world market.

The International Finance Corporation (IFC), the private sector branch of the World Bank Group, has agreed to provide USD 5 million in funds to be used in the completion of a bankable feasibility study for a Tanzania nickel exploitation project in the Dutwa nickel oxide project located in the northern part of the country.

Ophir Energy has announced the launch of its 2012 Tanzania drilling program, for which it will use the state-of-the-art drillship Odfjell rig Deep-sea Metro-1 (UDW drillship) as it begins the year with its first three wells: Jodari-1, Mzia-1, and Papa-1.

According to recent reports, the World Bank is planning to invest USD 290 million into mineral governance projects across seven different African countries, including the Tanzania mineral sector.