Prof Sospeter Muhongo
Prof Sospeter Muhongo said gas exploration in the lake goes much deeper than 2000 metres down the lake, noting that well financed companies would be needed to carry out miming activities there.
“This is not an easy process as some of you may think…the government has opened tender but not more than three companies in the world have the needed technology to explore gas in Lake Tanganyika,” he said.
The minister was responding to a supplementary question by the Muhambe MP, Felix Mkosamali (NCCR-MAGEUZI), who had wanted to know when the government would get an investor to explore gas in the lake after it ended contract with TOTAL.
Mkosamali said people of Kigoma, and of neighbouring regions were gearing to benefit from gas. He said:” Can the government tell the parliament when another investor would take over the exploration process.”
But the minister responded saying the tender was opened last month and that both international and local companies are free to apply.
Earlier in the main question asked by Mkosamali on behalf of Kigoma South MP, David Kafulila, the legislature wanted to know the fate of exploration in the lake after an earlier contract was cancelled.
The minister explained that the government could not enter into contract with France based TOTAL because the contract was not in favour of government interests.
The government rejected a 30 per cent production share in exploitation of gas on the northern side of Lake Tanganyika, informed sources say.
Alarmed by low earnings from the mining sector, which attracted strong criticism from the public, the government looked to have jumped out of the foreign investment trap by rejecting proposed oil and gas exploration agreement on Lake Tanganyika North from one of the leading oil companies TOTAl.
TOTAL won an open tender floated globally in 2011, by the government through the Tanzania Petroleum Development Corporation (TPDC) but could not reach a fruitful conclusion as the talks fell through.
“It was hot. The government team stood by its arguments while the TOTAL team was not ready to lower its stake,” said the minister.
PSA is a common type of contract signed between a government and a resource extraction company (or group of companies) concerning how much of the resource (usually oil) extracted from the country each part will receive.
Under such agreement the company invests its capital, which ultimately is deducted and the profit is shared between the parties.
This implies that the entire bidding process for the gas and oil exploration on Lake Tanganyika Northern Block was to start afresh later this year with a likelihood of attracting major oil companies on the globe.
SOURCE:
THE GUARDIAN
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