A Tanzania-Mozambique Gas unitization agreement is yet to be signed by the Petroleum Upstream Regulatory Authority (Pura) and the National Institute of Petroleum (INP) of Mozambique which will entail equal share of the natural gas reservoir that is situated at the border area of both the countries. According to the unitization agreement that will be signed, the management of Pura is going to reshape the energy landscape in the East Africa region and also have far reaching implications for both Tanzania and Mozambique. Unitization is the process where an oil reservoir or gas reservoir running on more than one licensed regions is developed jointly by the holders of each of the license.
According to the director general of Pura, Charles Sangweni, stated that the essence of this Tanzania-Mozambique Gas unitization agreement arose from the peculiar geographical location of the gas reserves at the border of the two countries. The deposits of the gas located at the border area span over a large area that transcends both boundaries of the countries. This crucial matter of sharing of resources has led to both Tanzania and Mozambique to conduct negotiations and also recognize the potential for major overlap in the gas reservoirs at the border area. Currently, the focus of the research of both of the countries has extended all the way to the southern part of Tanzania. This is where block 4/1B and block 4/1C overlap with the border of the neighboring country Mozambique.
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Tanzania-Mozambique Gas Discovery
Additionally, Mozambique recently made a discovery of an massive 172 trillion cubic feet of natural gas in the Northern belt area, more so in block 5/A and 5/B. It has been anticipated that these gas reservoirs may overlap into the territory of Tanzania thus triggering further exploration of the gas reservoirs. Tanzania and Mozambique are upholding the collaborative spirit in between them and currently a team of experts are working in order to hasten the agreement and the implications of this agreement economically cannot be overstated.
Also, Tanzania is foreseeing to becoming a crucial player in gas supply to its neighboring countries like Zambia, Malawi, Uganda, and Kenya. The prospect of leveraging the gas infrastructure of gas of Mozambique to transmit its own resources to Kenya is a perfect example of the regional corporation that the agreement can achieve, thus benefiting both countries that will be involved.
