Negotiations for the construction of a $30 billion liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal between Tanzania, Norway's Equinor and Britain's Shell have been completed and contract preparations are underway, the Tanzanian energy ministry said.
Development of Tanzania's vast offshore gas resources has been stalled for years due to regulatory delays.
Last June, the three parties involved signed a framework agreement to bring the start of construction of the project closer. The government aims to make a final investment decision in 2025 for the facility.
« Le ministre January Makamba a déclaré que les négociations sur la construction du projet de GNL étaient terminées, et que les experts travaillent maintenant à la rédaction des contrats », a déclaré le ministère de l’Énergie sur son compte Twitter.
« Parmi ces contrats, l’un concerne l’accord avec le gouvernement hôte et un autre concerne la jonction des blocs 1, 2 et 4, qui fourniront du gaz naturel pour le projet GNL », a-t-il déclaré sans donner de calendrier pour la signature des contrats.
Shell operates Tanzania's Blocks 1 and 4, which contain an estimated 16 trillion cubic feet of recoverable gas.
Norwegian oil and gas producer Equinor also operates Block 2, in which ExxonMobil has a stake and which is expected to contain over 20 trillion cubic feet of gas.
Equinor and Shell, together with Exxon Mobil, Ophir Energy and Pavilion Energy, are planning to build the LNG plant in the south-eastern Lindi region of Tanzania.
Tanzania is already using some of its natural gas finds for power generation and to run manufacturing plants. It also plans to build a fertiliser plant.
The government has estimated the country's total recoverable gas at 57.54 trillion cubic feet as of June 2022.