Tanzania has signed a framework agreement with Norway’s Equinor and Britain’s Shell that will bring them closer to starting construction of a $ 30 billion liquefied natural gas (LNG) export project. The deal, announced Saturday, envisions a final investment decision by 2025 and the start of operation by 2029-2030 of a liquefied natural gas plant to be built in Tanzania’s southern coastal city of Lindi. It marks a major step forward in Tanzania’s efforts to start exporting some of its vast offshore gas fields, estimated at more than 57 trillion cubic feet (1.630 billion cubic meters). “We have never reached this stage of gas development in the history of our country,” Energy Minister Jan Maccabi said at the signing ceremony in the capital Dodoma. “This project will significantly change our economy,” Makamba said. “Tanzania’s geographical location makes it easy to transport gas to other countries, especially Asian (Asian) ones, which are looking for new energy sources.” Tanzanian President Samia Suluhu Hassan, who was also present, welcomed the preliminary agreement. “We have reached a good stage of discussion for the LNG project, but we have a lot of work to do to make it competitive,” he said. Plans for the LNG plant had stalled for several years under John Magufuli’s predecessor, and he resumed efforts after becoming head of state last year. Equinor’s Country Manager for Tanzania, Unni Fjaer, said the deal has been under way for some time. “We had many stops but they passed [the] “The determination of the government, we continued to participate, discussions and we believe that Tanzania gas is a huge opportunity,” he said. Together with the American company ExxonMobil, Equinor operates a block, about 100 kilometers (60 miles) off the coast of Lindy, where it says it has found 20 trillion cubic feet (566 billion cubic meters) of gas. Shell, along with Ophir Energy and Pavilion Energy, says it has discovered 16 trillion cubic feet (453 billion cubic meters) of gas in two other offshore blocks in the same area. Tanzania’s economy was hit during the Coronavirus pandemic as travel restrictions hit the tourism sector, a key source of income in the East African country.
