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Ngeleja: Tanzania now has four gas fields
2008-03-28 10:15:41
By Correspondent Njonanje Samwel
Tanzania now has four underground natural gas reserves following the discovery of, another gas field in Kilwa District.
The new field adds to that of Songo Songo also in Kilwa discovered by UK-based Pan African Energy and Mnazi Bay in Mtwara Region and the recently Artumas Group discovered field at Mkuranga District in Coast Region.
Speaking to journalists in Dar es Salaam on Wednesday, the Minister for Energy and Minerals, John Ngeleja, said that the new Kilwa discovery at Nyuni was made on March 13, this year by Ndovu Resources, exploring gas and oil in the area.
According to Ngeleja, the gas was detected from seismic samples taken by the firm after it has drilled a 2030-metre depth well at deep sea, east of the island.
``The firm started drilling the well in February this year. Seismic data from the well show that there is presence of enough natural gas, said the minister, adding that geological data show that the gas was at 30 metres deeper than that of Songo Songo.
He said the next thing would be to make evaluation of the total amount of gas present in the area before embarking on drilling.
The other task, according to Ngeleja, would be to establish gas drilling projects for gas business.
He said it was good news for the future of the country`s economy as it would increase the amount of sources of energy for domestic consumptions as well as increase jobs.
He said other benefits would be to increase investors\' confidence and thereby attract more foreign companies to explore for oil and gas.
However, the minister dismissed fears from a section of the public that frequent power interruptions that the country experienced suggested an imminent power rationing.
He said the frequent power blackouts were due to emergency technical problems which the power utility firm, Tanesco would not avoid.
``The public is always informed of power blackouts which are within Tanesco`s capacity such as routine maintenance,`` said the minister, adding that nearly 1.6tn/- was required to serve the company from its pathetic condition.
He pointed out that poor electric infrastructure and lack of funds that the state-owned firm is facing were behind the on-going power interruptions.
``We need to give Tanesco much more time for the good to happen,`` he noted.
He said that the first natural gas reserve was harnesed to power eletric production in 2004, the country has saved USD994.1m.
According to Ngeleja, Songo Songo produced gas which saved USD992m, while Mnazi Bay gas saved USD2.1m.
He added that gas would be an important source of energy as the price of crude oil in the world market stood at more than USD110 a barrel.
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