Tanzania has moved to streamline operations in the lucrative natural gas sector with the finalisation of a policy whose core objective is to ensure Tanzanians become the prime beneficiaries of the resource.

The Natural Gas Policy document now awaits Cabinet approval to become effective.

A senior Ministry of Energy and Minerals official says the policy provides a comprehensive framework for the development of the natural gas industry.

“We have prepared a vibrant gas policy that is currently at Cabinet level, awaiting approval,” says Mwaro Shoo, the acting assistant com-missioner for the gas industry.

He adds that the policy is one of three critical documents that Tanzania has prepared to ensure the country accrues maximum benefits from the industry, which is worth billions of dollars and is currently dominated by foreign companies. The other documents are the Natural Gas Utilisation Master Plan and the Natural Gas Act.

Several onshore and offshore discoveries of large quantities of the resource have been made in Tanzania.
“The natural gas resources belong to the people of Tanzania and must be managed in a way that benefits the entire Tanzanian society,” states the policy.

Tanzania sits on one-trillion cubic feet of proven natural gas reserves, equivalent to about $150-billion at current prices, which is about six times the country’s gross domestic product.

With heightened exploration and drilling currently taking place, particularly offshore, Tanzania expects that known deposits will increase to 200-trillion cubic feet in the near future.

Currently, 16 international energy com-panies are licensed to search for oil and gas. These include British firm BG Group, Norway’s Statoil, Brazil’s Petrobras, Royal Dutch Shell and Exxon Mobil.

Tanzania is already using some of its natural gas to produce 450 MW of electricity. It intends to be a net exporter of gas, and plans for a pipeline connecting it to neigh-bouring Kenya are at an advanced stage.