Oil, gas exploration blocks up for grabs in Zanzibar

In February last year, President Mwinyi launched the five-year blueprint, which seeks to develop an oil and gas industry alongside efforts to boost its “blue” economy.

The opening of the 12 blocks also comes after a multinational company, Schlumberger, completed the assignment of processing oil and gas data that was presented to the Zanzibar government by the government of the United Republic of Tanzania.

Zanzibar’s minister for Blue Economy and Fisheries Suleiman Masoud Makame said data processing and distribution of new blocks located in deep sea areas of eastern Unguja and Pemba, with a total of 12 blocks, have been completed.

“This is the first tender related to oil and gas exploration and extraction to be issued in Zanzibar, constituting issues stipulated in the sectors’ Five Year Development Plan,” he said.

He said the ministry would like to issue a public announcement that the data processing job and distribution of new oil and gas blocks located on the deep sea of eastern Unguja and Pemba have been completed.

Furthermore, he said the move opens a new phase of oil and gas exploration aimed at promoting the sector by opening investment opportunities and welcoming applications through international tendering slated to be announced before the end of 2023.

“The government now welcomes oil and gas exploration and extraction firms to visualise Zanzibar’s data and propose areas of interest for them to invest in before the commencement of the tendering process,” he said.

Earlier, Zanzibar entered into a contract with the UAE Company RAK Gas for oil exploration in the Pemba block, but the contract expired before the conclusion of the intended job, even after an extension of implementation time.

In August last year, Tanzania Mainland and Zanzibar officially announced that they would no longer oversee the oil and gas sector jointly.

Prior to that, oil and gas were Union matters overseen by the United Republic of Tanzania. However, with the receipt of oil and gas data from Tanzania’s Mainland, the semi-autonomous Indian Ocean archipelago can now go ahead with the search for exploration investors independently.

Speaking when he attended the ceremony where Mr Makame and Tanzania’s minister for Energy, January Makamba, signed and exchanged a transmittal document during a function held at Zanzibar State House, Dr Mwinyi described the handing over of the petroleum seismic data, which contain images of the subsurface in both land and marine environments, as a historic milestone for both sides.

“We have been waiting for a long time to resolve this matter. This is both a legal and political milestone,” said Dr Mwinyi.

“We are now going ahead to drill oil in Zanzibar because all the signs are there,” he added.

Dr Mwinyi thanked retired President Jakaya Kikwete and retired Zanzibar President Ali Mohammed Shein, who agreed to drop oil and gas from the list of Union matters.

Earlier, data were preserved by the Petroleum Upstream Regulatory Authority (Pura), but after being handed to Zanzibar, they are now handled by the Zanzibar Petroleum Regulatory Authority.