Tanzania plans to invite oil operators to bid for 16 new offshore blocks under its licensing round scheduled for September 2012, Reuters reports.
According to Reuters, Dr. Meshack Kagya, Principal Petroleum Geochemist at Tanzania Petroleum Development Corporation, told at an energy conference in Nairobi, Kenya, that more details on the Tanzanian offshore licensing round would be unveiled in April.
East Africa is a major prospective hydrocarbon province. The region has witnessed a significant increase in offshore exploration activity in recent years with oil giants such as Shell, BG Group, Statoil and Exxon Mobil all taking part in the exploration activities off the coast of Tanzania.
UK’s BG Group yesterday reported its fourth Tanzanian gas discovery from the Jodari-1 exploration well located in Block 1, offshore southern Tanzania. The company says that preliminary evaluation of the well results indicates gross recoverable resources are in the range of 2.5 to 4.4 trillion cubic feet (tcf) of gas.
[mappress] Offshore Energy Today Staff, March 27, 2012; Image: tpdc-tz