Going Offshore In Deepest, Darkest Africa  

The Australian reports that local oil company Beach Petroleum has won the right to explore for oil in Tanzania. I had a look at Tanzanian offshore oil (in the Indian Ocean) a few years ago in "Stand On Zanzibar" - Beach is going offshore in a different way though, into the waters of Lake Tanganyika, where oil seeps have been noticed over the years.

Following the path established by Perth-based Hardman Resources, taken over last year by British independent Tullow Oil, Beach is seeking a production-sharing agreement covering part of the Albert Basin. Hardman and Heritage Oil exploration in the Ugandan part of the basin produced significant oil discoveries with potential reserves in the 100 million to 1 billion barrels range. Beach said yesterday it had been granted exclusive rights after a contested tender process to negotiate with the Tanzanian Government to explore onshore and under the waters of the southern half of Lake Tanganyika in western Tanzania. ...

Beach managing director Reg Nelson said the south block provided the company with an opportunity for ground-floor exploration in an area with similar geology to a proven petroleum basin. "Lake Tanganyika has until now been poorly explored," he said. "Seismic data acquired by Duke University in the early 1980s shows similar structures to those which have produced oil fields in Uganda to the north." Mr Nelson said reported oil seeps in Lake Tanganyika indicated that a working hydrocarbon system was present and suggested the potential for large petroleum accumulations in the permit area.

There don't seem to have been any oil discoveries in the country yet, though there has long been speculation that the same oil bearing rock formation found in Sudan extends much further south. The country remains largely unexplored, although some natural gas reserves have been discovered, particularly at the island of Songo Songo, which has been producing gas for 4 years. Reserves are currently estimated at two trillion cubic feet.

Unlike Lake Kivu to the north, there doesn't seem to be any potential for methane extraction from the waters of Lake Tanganyika.



The dependence on oil imports is causing some consternation in the current environment of soaring oil prices - oil absorbs 55% of the country's foreign exchange earnings.

Tanzania's petroleum firm has warned that an oil crisis is looming due to the country's lack of strategic oil reserves. The Tanzania Petroleum Development Corporation (TPDC) said that any man-made or natural disaster would trigger the crisis in the production sector and the entire economy as well. Tanzania does not have its petroleum resources and depends wholly on imports of petroleum products.

The Guardian newspaper on Friday quoted the corporation's board chairman, Robert Mboma, as saying that at least half of the country 's imported oil needs should have been reserved for use during hard times.

Tanzania's parliamentary committee on investment and trade has pointed out that there was indeed the need for the government to financially support the TPDC to set up the national petroleum reserves. A motion was tabled at the parliamentary session in June last year to urge for the establishment of the country's petroleum strategic reserves.

I'm not sure if oil discoveries would be good for Tanzania or not - on the one hand they seem to be desperately needed if the country isn't to be completely priced out of the international energy market. On the other hand the Sudanese experience isn't exactly encouraging.

I've always regarded Tanzania quite fondly, having passed through there a few times in the mid-1990s.

The Tanzanians seem have an unusually high level of regard for tall people, which became immediately apparent to me when I first stepped into an immigration building on the Kenya-Tanzania border. The queue was maybe 250 people long, but as soon as I joined the end of it I was abruptly summoned by one of the immigration guys to front of the queue. This naturally made me pretty paranoid, wondering how I'd managed to draw attention to myself so quickly. However, the guy barely glanced at my passport before stamping it and giving me a big smile and sending me on my way, all the while indicating that big guys get preferential treatment.

This sort of thing happened quite frequently - even out in the middle of the bush I'd be minding my own business and before too long some tribe of Maasai would emerge from the undergrowth and want to come over and shake my hand and marvel at my size.

So I hope it all turns out well for them.