By Nicholas Bariyo
Tanzania's known natural gas reserves have increased by up to
18% in the last 12 months following a number of discoveries in
offshore blocks, the energy and minerals ministry said Monday.
In a statement, the ministry said that the country's natural gas
reserves now stand at 55.08 trillion cubic feet, up from 46.5 Tcf
last June following finds in blocks off the country's southeastern
coast.
The larger reserves are a major boost for Tanzania's fledging
natural gas sector as the East African nation continues with plans
to build a gas export plant targeting energy-hungry Asian markets.
With more than 100 Tcf of natural gas already discovered in
neighboring Mozambique, the region is poised to become the next
natural gas hub on the continent, analysts say.
The energy and minerals ministry said the 532-kilometer gas
pipeline, connecting the offshore oilfields to the port city of Dar
Es Salaam is complete and will be commissioned in September.
The pipeline is expected to increase gas supplies to several
gas-fired plants as Tanzania seeks to wean its electricity sector
away from aging and unreliable hydro-power plants. A spokeswoman
for the ministry said that fresh gas supplies will save the country
around $1 billion a year in oil imports for electricity
generation.
Companies including Norway's Statoil ASA (STO), Exxon Mobil
Corp. (XOM) of the U.S., Italy's Eni SpA (E) and the U.K.'s BG
Group PLC (BG.LN) have made a series of finds off the coast of
Tanzania and Mozambique in recent years, making the region a
hotspot for energy investors.
The U.S. Geological Survey estimates that East Africa's coastal
region has potential reserves of up to 441 Tcf of natural gas.
Write to Nicholas Bariyo at nicholas.bariyo@wsj.com
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