Tanzania has shifted its 4th offshore licensing round further by a few months to allow its parliament enough time to ratify the Natural Gas Policy and Gas Utilization Master Plan. The sale of nine blocks was to have been launched in the first week of September 2012, but the Tanzanian Ministry of Energy & Minerals has called for the delay until the parliamentary session in October 2012, when the government will be presented with the instruments.
The move will allow the policy to be ratified before the start of the new roadshow schedule, which is anticipated to start again soon after the Parliamentary ratification. The gas policy and gas utilization master plan have to be backed up by a Gas Act.
18 companies are working in Tanzania with 26 gas exploration licenses, exploring gas in the country as well as off the country’s coast.
ION GeoVentures, the consultant to the Tanzanian government on the bid round, says that the bid round data package will be available for review and purchase by September-end.
“Investors will get more time period to evaluate the technical data and assess the prospects of the nine blocks on offer”, the company explains.