Dar es Salaam: The Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Energy responsible for petroleum and natural gas affairs, Dr James Mataragio, has met with the management of the Petroleum Upstream Regulatory Authority (PURA) to discuss and set strategies aimed at strengthening oil and natural gas exploration activities in Tanzania.
The meeting, held in Dar es Salaam on March 12, 2026, was attended by the Assistant Petroleum Commissioner from the Ministry of Energy (Tanzania), Antelimi Raphael, the Director General of PURA Engineer Charles Sangweni, and several officials from the...
Ministry of Energy and PURA.Speaking during the opening of the meeting, Dr Mataragio explained that one of the key areas requiring significant attention in the petroleum and gas sector is exploration, noting that such activities have declined considerably in recent years.
“In the past, oil and natural gas exploration activities in the country were carried out extensively and at a fast pace. Even when we look at the Production Sharing Agreements (PSAs), they used to exceed 26, but today we are talking about only 11 contracts.
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“And if you examine them closely, even among the remaining PSAs, only a few companies are actively fulfilling their obligations to continue exploration activities. This situation is not satisfactory. We must put in place strategies aimed at stimulating oil and natural gas exploration in the country,” the Permanent Secretary stressed.
According to Dr Mataragio, the slowdown in exploration activities poses a risk to the certainty of natural gas supply, as exploration is the catalyst for discoveries which, when developed, lead to gas production.
“At the moment, as a Ministry we are determined to intensify efforts in this area and create an enabling environment for the growth of oil and natural gas exploration activities,” he added.
On his part, Eng Charles Sangweni said PURA has continued to implement various strategies to promote oil and natural gas exploration activities in the country.
Among the strategies is entering into agreements with specialised multi-client geophysical companies that focus on petroleum data acquisition, with the aim of advancing research in both offshore and onshore areas.
During the meeting, the Ministry of Energy and Petroleum Upstream Regulatory Authority held in-depth discussions on strategies to strengthen oil and natural gas exploration activities and identified key issues that need urgent attention in order to revitalise the sector.
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