Tanzania Signals New LNG Law Could Land by Year-End
Tanzania's deputy energy minister says a new law governing LNG investment could be completed by the end of the year, potentially unlocking a long-delayed $42 billion project.
Tanzania could have a new law governing liquefied natural gas investment in place by the end of the year, deputy minister for energy Salome Wycliffe Makamba said, a step that may revive a long-delayed $42 billion export project.
Speaking to reporters on the sidelines of the Gastech conference in Bangkok, Makamba indicated the legislation could be finalised within months. The proposed framework would set the terms for large-scale LNG development in the East African country.
The project, which has been stalled for years, would draw on Tanzania's substantial offshore gas reserves. It is jointly operated by Equinor and Shell, with Exxon Mobil, Pavilion Energy, Medco Energi and the state-run Tanzania Petroleum Development Corporation (TPDC) as partners.
The venture is designed to tap 47.13 trillion cubic feet of natural gas, according to the project's stated reserves. If it proceeds, it would offer Asian buyers an additional source of supply.
Equinor has said that disruption to energy flows through the Strait of Hormuz is making the Tanzanian development more attractive to the Norwegian company. A final investment decision has yet to be reached.
The timing of any new law remains subject to the government's legislative schedule, and no final investment decision has been announced.