Tanzania has granted China permission to explore its natural gas reserves

Tanzania's Energy Minister January said in an interview with Bloomberg on Thursday that Tanzania Petroleum Development Corporation (TPDC) and CNOOC, a Chinese state-owned offshore oil and gas corporation, plan to start exploring offshore.Tanzania has secured a deal with supermajors to construct a large LNG export terminal as part of its efforts to hasten the development of its natural gas resources, according to Tanzanian weekly website The Citizen. Tanzania's energy minister recently told Bloomberg that CNOOC and Tanzania had "an agreement in the works" to perform seismic research ahead of an offshore licensing cycle expected for 2024. "We believe that Tanzania has more gas and possibly oil to discover because only 30% of the area with oil and gas potential has been explored." The Tanzania Petroleum Development Corporation (TPDC) and the Chinese corporation would collaborate on projects in TPDC's deep-water areas, the minister noted. The blocks are near the major natural gas finds made by a partnership between Shell, Equinor, and ExxonMobil. The three supermajors and the Tanzanian government reached a deal last month to build an LNG export facility. A host government agreement and a production-sharing agreement are the cornerstones of the first arrangement. Tanzania and other African nations are attempting to benefit from the expanding LNG demand in Europe, which is purchasing increasing quantities of ultra-chilled fuel to replace Russian pipeline supplies.