Morogoro. The Petroleum Upstream Regulatory Authority (PURA) has announced that it will open bids for the 5th licensing round on March 5, 2025.
The auction, which will involve 26 oil and gas exploration blocks, will take place during the East African Petroleum Conference and Exhibition (EAPCE’25), scheduled to be held in Dar es Salaam from March 5 to 7, 2025.
Speaking during the third session of the second staff council meeting held in Morogoro on February 19, PURA director general, Charles Sangweni, said that the bids will close in December 2025.
Out of the 26 blocks, 23 are located offshore in the Indian Ocean, while the remaining three are situated in Lake Tanganyika.
The EAPCE’25, jointly organised by East African Community (EAC) member states, is expected to attract over 1,000 participants from across the region and beyond to deliberate on sustainable petroleum exploration and extraction.
This will be the second licensing round to be held in Dar es Salaam after the initial three were conducted in the US and the UK.
As regards the 5th round deputy minister for Energy, Ms Judith Kapinga, urged PURA to continue attracting investors to boost participation.
“If you succeed in attracting investment in oil and gas exploration activities, the country will increase discoveries of this crucial resource, as well as expand the volume of gas reserves,” she said as she officiated the staff council meeting.
She said it was important to increase petroleum exploration to enhance discoveries and expand Tanzania’s natural gas reserves.
“For a long time, we have only been discussing the discovery of 57.54 trillion cubic feet of gas. It is now time to do more and ensure that we expand these discoveries for the benefit of our nation’s development,” she added.
Preparations for the 5th Licensing Round
PURA has undertaken various activities to ensure the success of the upcoming auction.
Officials from the authority and other government agencies have been engaging investors globally to encourage participation.
The ministry of Energy capitalised on the Africa Energy Week in Cape Town, South Africa, in November 2024 to highlight investment opportunities in Tanzania’s energy sector.
During the event, Deputy Permanent Secretary for Petroleum Affairs, Dr James Mataragio, outlined opportunities in oil and gas exploration blocks, infrastructure, renewable energy, and petrochemical industries.
He reiterated that preparations for the fifth licensing round were complete.
“We expect to auction a total of 26 petroleum exploration blocks in the country, with 23 located offshore and three in Lake Tanganyika,” he said.
Dr Mataragio also highlighted the opportunity for investors to collaborate with the Tanzania Petroleum Development Corporation (TPDC) to develop the Eyasi-Wembere, Mnazi Bay North, and Songo Songo West blocks.
He assured that comprehensive data, including magnetic, gravity, seismic (2D and 3D), and well data, was available for prospective investors to review.
In December 2024, PURA held discussions with Indonesia’s state-owned energy company, Pertamina, in Dar es Salaam.
The talks, chaired by Sangweni, sought to promote Tanzania’s oil and gas sector and encourage Pertamina to participate in the licensing round.
The Indonesian delegation, which included senior investment officials and Ambassador Tri Yogo Jatmiko, expressed keen interest and confirmed their participation.
Pertamina already has a presence in Tanzania through its ownership in Maurel et Prom Exploration Production T (Ltd), the operator of the Mnazi Bay Block in Mtwara.
PURA also leveraged the India Energy Week held in New Delhi from February 10 to 14, 2025, to promote the upcoming auction to over 70,000 stakeholders from more than 50 countries.
Earlier, in May 2024, the Indian High Commission in Tanzania engaged PURA officials to obtain details on the bidding process.
Second Secretary (Commerce) Narender Kumar noted that Indian companies had shown interest in investing in Tanzania’s oil and gas sector.
Key developments ahead of the Auction
To facilitate the licensing round, the government has completed the demarcation of the exploration blocks and the preparation of petroleum data packages.
The review of the 2013 Model Production Sharing Agreement (MPSA) has also been finalised, with the new draft submitted to the Ministry of Energy.
The revision aims to enhance the investment climate and encourage further exploration.
Additionally, PURA has acquired a geophysical multiclient company, TGS ASA, to support petroleum data processing and the promotion of exploration blocks.
As of April 2023, there were 11 licensed petroleum exploration blocks in Tanzania, three under development and eight under exploration.
The country’s total discovered gas reserves stood at 57.54 trillion cubic feet, spanning both onshore and offshore areas.
Background of Licensing Rounds
Tanzania has conducted four competitive offshore licensing rounds since 2000, resulting in production-sharing agreements with international oil companies such as Petrobras, Ophir, Dominion, and Equinor (formerly Statoil).
These agreements have led to the discovery of 47 trillion cubic feet of gas in offshore blocks, confirming the high potential of Tanzania’s petroleum sector.
The 1st offshore Licensing Round
The bidding involved exploration Blocks located in the Mafia Offshore Deep-Sea Basin.
The bidding round was launched in Houston and London on September 14, 2000 and September, 19 2000 respectively, and was closed out on April 19, 2001.
Through this bidding round, six exploration Blocks namely; 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6 were auctioned out of which, one production sharing agreement for Block number 5 was signed between the government and Petrobras, a state-owned Brazilian Company.
The 2nd Offshore Licensing Round
The second licensing round was held in 2001 in Houston, US and involved auctioning of eleven exploration Blocks.
In this round, two bids were received.
One from Shell International of the Netherlands and another from Global Resources of the US.
Both companies tendered the same exploration Blocks, that is, Blocks No. 9 -12.
After bid evaluation, the recommendation was to award the tender to Shell International for all Blocks.
PSA negotiations started and reached a conclusion. Nevertheless, the parties could not sign the PSA for various reasons.
The 3rd Offshore Licensing Round
The third offshore licensing round involved exploration of Blocks 1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 7, and 8 located in the deep sea.
The bid announcement was made in Denver – Colorado in the US on November 25, 2004 and at the PETEX Conference in London, UK.
The bid was closed on May 25, 2005.
This bidding round, just like the previous, yielded positive results as the government signed a production-sharing agreement with three companies namely Ophir Energy (for blocks 1 & 4), Statoil (for Block 2), and Petrobras (for Block 6).
The 4th Offshore Licensing Round
This licensing round involved seven exploration Blocks located in the deep offshore (4/5A, 4/5B, 4/4A, 4/4B, 4/3A, 4/3B, 4/2A) and one Block located on the Northern Part of Lake Tanganyika.
The bid was launched in Dar es Salaam on October 25, 2013 and closed on May 15, 2014.
At the end of the licensing round and bid evaluation, two companies (CNOOC from China for an offshore Block 4/3A and RAKGAs from UAE for the Lake Tanganyika North Block) met the requirements of the bid.
The then President Jakaya Kikwete launched the fourth round in Dar es Salaam.
