Tanzania's Energy Minister January disclosed via an interview with Bloomberg on Thursday that Tanzania Petroleum Development Corporation (TPDC) and CNOOC, a Chinese state-owned offshore oil and gas corporation, want to begin offshore exploration.
Tanzania has reached an agreement with supermajors to build a sizable LNG export terminal as part of its efforts to accelerate the development of its natural gas resources, as seen in The Citizen, a Tanzanian news publication.
Tanzania's energy minister told Bloomberg recently that CNOOC and Tanzania had "an agreement in the works" to conduct seismic research prior to an offshore licensing round scheduled to take place in 2024.
“We believe that Tanzania has more gas, and possibly oil, to be discovered because only 30% of the area with potential for oil and gas resources has been explored so far,” the Tanzanian minister told Bloomberg.
The Tanzania Petroleum Development Corporation (TPDC) and the Chinese corporation would collaborate on projects in TPDC's deep-water areas, the minister noted. The blocks are near the major natural gas finds made by a partnership between Shell, Equinor, and ExxonMobil.
The three supermajors and the Tanzanian government reached a deal last month to build an LNG export facility. A host government agreement and a production-sharing agreement are the cornerstones of the first arrangement. Tanzania and other African nations are attempting to benefit from the expanding LNG demand in Europe, which is purchasing increasing quantities of ultra-chilled fuel to replace Russian pipeline supplies.
To deliver gas to Europe, which aims to stop using Russian gas by 2027, oil and gas companies are now aiming to clinch more agreements in the Mediterranean and Africa.
Claudio Descalzi, CEO of Eni, stated in an interview with the Financial Times at the beginning of the year that Europe should turn to Africa as a "south-north" energy axis for gas delivery.