Tanzania schedules 4th licencing round for October 25, 2013
Dar es Salaam – Tanzania’ government has announced that the delayed 4th Licensing Round is to be launched later this month.
Seven deepwater offshore blocks and the Lake Tanganyika North offshore block will be available in the round, to be launched in Tanzania’s capital Dar es Salaam, immediately after the 2nd Tanzania Oil and Gas Conference and Exhibition, on October 25.
It will close on May 15, 2014, according to Tanzania’s Tanzania Petroleum Development Corporation (TPDC).
The round had been due to open last year but TPDC said, in 2012, the Ministry of Energy & Minerals had requested that the start of the 4th round be delayed until after the government had been presented with a new natural gas policy.
The deepwater blocks are in 2000-3000m water depth adjacent to proven prospective blocks.
The Lake Tanganyika North offshore block is in 1500m water depth along the western arm of the East African rift system.
The Tanzania Petroleum Development Corporation (TPDC) confirmed today that the New 2D seismic data covering the blocks is available from at ION Geoventures. Additional data will be made available by WesternGeco.
The Bid Round Data Package (BRDP) will be available for purchase at ION Geoventures’ offices in Houston and London post-launch.
Tanzania has become hot property, with BG Group and Statoil eying LNG export from the gas-rich offshore region following a string of recent large discoveries.
Independent exploration firm Ophir Energy has said the preferred site for Tanzania’s first multi-train LNG facility could be announced later this year.
The firm, a partner with operator BG Group on Blocks 1, 3 and 4, offshore Tanzania, said work selecting a site was nearing completion.
Discussions have been held with the Tanzanian government and state-oil firm TPDC, as well as neighbouring Block 2 co-venturers—Statoil and ExxonMobil—who would be involved in jointly developing an LNG facility.
This is anticipated will lead to an announcement of a preferred site during 2H, enabling a site acquisition process to start, said Ophir.
