10 hectares of the Mtwara Freeport Zone will be developed into an oil field supply base due to a new agreement by the Export Processing Zone Authority (EPZA) and the Tanzania Ports Authority (TPA).
The oil field supply base would be the first of its kind in Tanzania and indeed any other East or South African country.
The 10 hectare development is part of a wider development of the 110 hectare Mtwara Freeport area and will be used to enable companies to supply oil to multi-national companies involved in oil and gas exploration in the region.
The agreement was signed by EPZA Director General Dr Adelhelm Meru and TPA Ag Director General, Eng. Madeni Kipande on the weekend of the 4th January in Dar es Salaam and was witnessed by the Ministers for Transport and Industry and Trade, Dr Harrison Mwakyembe and Mr Gregory Teu.
Dr Mwakyembe urged regional authorities to speed up the necessary preparations for investors because a number of multinational companies are already prepared to invest in the base such as US based Schlumberger, Weatherford and Halliburton International.
The oil and gas industry in Tanzania is expected to be boosted in the coming years by a potential increase in natural gas production from Mnazi Bay Concession, Southeast Tanzania.
Current natural gas resources in Tanzania are estimated to be 40 trillion cubic feet (tcf).
