Tanzania’s deputy Prime Minister and minister for energy Dr Doto Biteko has hinted that executing the Liquefied National Gas(LNG) investment is part of the country’s priorities for the 2024/2025 financial year.
The year starts in July this year.
President Samia Suluhu’s government reset hopes for the initially stalled $40bn LNG project in 2021 when she assumed office, leading to rounds of negotiations with the LNG partners.
Subsequently, this led to the signing of a Preliminary Agreement of the Host Government Agreement (HGA) for LNG project in mid 2022. Actual negotiations with the international consortium ended in mid 2023 with expectations that final agreements would be signed in December 2023, but did not happen.
However, the Minister’s statement in Parliament today gave a hint that the government is still focused on the project as a priority in the financial year which starts in July.
Dr Biteko noted that Tanzania’s Government Negotiating Team had re-assessed the preliminary Host Government Agreement documents, and altered some things prior to forwarding to the government lawyer(Attorney General’s chambers.
The Minister’s statement could send a sense of relief to investors in the LNG consortium following months of jitters in their community since December 2023 over what they term as ‘confusing silence’ on the government’s side.
Presenting his ministry’s budget in Parliament in the capital Dodoma today, he said that they plan to extent electricity further to rural areas and implement strategic projects in the oil and gas including the Liquefied National Gas(LNG) investment.
Other priorities for the year, he said, include:
- Continue strengthening production,generation and distribution including extending the national grid to the remaining regions.
- Implementing chains surrounding construction of the East African Crude Oil Pipeline(EACOP) and continue working with investors in various oil and gas blocks.
- Distribute gas to industries and homes and increase awareness on CNG in vehicles.
- Increase awareness on clean cooking,increase availability of fuel in villages by ensuring establishment of more fuel stations.
- Ensuring availability of petroleum products countrywide
- Strengthen participation of private sector in exploration and management of oil and gas resources including electricity production and generation.