In 2012, total oil production in East Africa, other than Sudan and South Sudan, was less than 1,000 barrels per day (BOPD), all of which was biofuels production from various countries. Also, with the exception of Sudan and South Sudan, there are no crude oil producers in the region, and only two countries held proved oil reserves as of January 1,2013: Uganda (2.5 billion barrels) and Ethiopia (430 million barrels), all these, according to a report by the United States’ Energy Information Administration. “East Africa holds eight percent (8%) of the continent’s total crude oil refinery capacity, which is located in Sudan, Kenya,Zambia, Tanzania, and Eritrea”, the report notes. “Mozambique and Tanzania are the only natural gas producers, with an output of 135 billion cubic feet (Bcf) and 30 Bcf of dry natural gas in 2011,respectively. Proved natural gas reserves are held in Mozambique, Sudan and South Sudan, Tanzania, Rwanda, Ethiopia, Uganda, and Somalia”.
The EIA report remarks that, before the spectacular gas discoveries of the last three years in Tanzania and Mozambique, “oil and gas exploration has been intermittently conducted in Tanzania for the last 60 years”.
Natural gas discoveries were made at SongoSongo Island and Mnazi Bay in 1974 and 1982, respectively, by Eni’s subsidiary AGIP (AziendaGeneraleItalianaPetroli).“However, it took three decades to achieve the first gas production in Tanzania. Currently, the SongoSongo gas field is the only fully producing gas field in Tanzania, “but this may change in the near future if full-scale production at the Mnazi Bay Concession begins as expected.Tanzania had 230 million cubic feet of proved natural gas reserves as of January 1, 2013, according to Oil &Gas Journal. Tanzania does not have proved crude oil reserves”.
