DODOMA: Tanzania Petroleum Development Corporation has launched several multi-billion-shilling projects aimed at sustaining and expanding the country’s natural gas production, nearly two decades after commercial extraction began in southern Tanzania.
Briefing reporters in Dodoma, TPDC Director General Mussa Mohamed Makame said the state energy firm is implementing a range of upstream and midstream projects designed to increase output and strengthen energy supply for power generation and industry.
Among the key initiatives is the drilling of three new gas wells at Mnazi Bay in the southern Mtwara Region.
The project, valued at about 235 billion Tanzanian shillings, involves drilling two wells – MB-5 and MS-2 – to increase production and a third well, Kasa-1, expected to open a new gas field.
Makame said preparations for the project began in 2024, with drilling of the first well starting on Feb. 6, 2026.
“Currently, drilling progress has reached 27 per cent, with the first well expected to be completed within one week,” he said, adding that drilling of the remaining wells is expected to continue until October 2026.
Once operational, the project is expected to increase gas output by around 45 million cubic feet per day, with about 15 million cubic feet per day projected to come online this month.
Makame said the additional supply would support electricity generation, industrial use, household consumption and transport.
TPDC is also advancing another project in the Ruvuma Basin involving drilling activities and construction of a raw gas pipeline linking the Ntorya field to the Madimba Gas Processing Plant.
The upstream component includes drilling a new well, Chikumbi-1, rehabilitating the Ntorya-1 well and conducting production testing at Ntorya-2. The work is expected to increase production by about 60 million cubic feet of gas.
The upstream phase is estimated to cost about $23.5 million and is currently at the stage of procuring drilling services, clearing drilling sites and finalising the environmental and social impact assessment.
Meanwhile, the midstream component involves building a 34.2-kilometre pipeline to transport raw gas from the Ntorya field to the Madimba processing plant at an estimated cost of 122.7 billion shillings.
Makame said TPDC is also conducting geological studies to identify new oil and gas prospects. The company is using 3D seismic technology to collect geological data covering around 736 square kilometres in the Lindi–Mtwara Block, a project expected to cost about 107 billion shillings.
In addition, oil exploration is continuing in the Eyasi–Wembere Basin, where 2D seismic surveys are under way. The first phase collected 260 kilometres of seismic data, while the second phase targets 1,100 kilometres, with 537 kilometres completed so far.
The exploration programme is expected to cost about 53.4 billion shillings and run until June 2027.
Makame said the projects are being implemented in line with Tanzania’s local content policy, with priority given to employing Tanzanians, particularly young people.