KBR Wins Tanzania LNG Contract

KBR announced that it was awarded a contract by Statoil Tanzania AS to perform pre-front end engineering and design (pre-FEED) studies for a prospective liquefied natural gas facility in Tanzania, East Africa.

The pre-FEED study is designed to help Statoil further assess the viability of developing an LNG facility to export natural gas from this East African region. The project is expected to be completed during 2013.

“We are excited to be selected by Statoil for this important project,” said Mitch Dauzat, president, Gas Monetization. “KBR looks forward to working together with Statoil to define their LNG concept for Tanzania.”

KBR has been working with Statoil for more than 30 years and has an outstanding record for successful project execution, predominantly for Statoil’s Gas Processing plants.

KBR Wins Tanzania LNG Contract LNG World News.

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Wood Mackenzie: East Africa’s Yet-to-Find Reserves Hold 95 tcf of Gas

Wood Mackenzie estimates that 100 trillion cubic feet (tcf) of gas has been discovered in Mozambique and Tanzania to date, ranking the Rovuma Basin as one of the most prolific conventional gas plays in the world.

However, there are significant technical and commercial challenges to be overcome in order to bring the gas to market by the end of this decade. These include: addressing issues around infrastructure, government capacity, financing and reaching a positive outcome to unitisation negotiations in Mozambique.

Recent discoveries and high profile M&A activity in Mozambique and Tanzania are attracting attention and Martin Kelly, Wood Mackenzie’s Head of Sub-Sahara Upstream Research, says the interest is justified: “100 tcf of gas has been discovered to date in East Africa and we estimate yet-to-find reserves could be as much as 80 tcf in Mozambique and 15 tcf in Tanzania. There is clearly plenty of gas to supply the likely commercialisation route of LNG – theoretically enough to support up to 16 LNG trains.

“The Rovuma basin is the most prolific in the region, and one of the hottest conventional gas plays in the world, with 85 tcf discovered so far. Globally in 2011, it yielded the third most hydrocarbons, and we expect it to top the list in 2012 if the first half of the year is anything to go by,” Kelly continues.

In neighbouring Tanzania, the targets are the northern extension of the Rovuma Basin and the Mafia Basin. Kelly says: “Tanzania has enjoyed considerable exploration success as well, but hasn’t discovered the same scale of reserves. The average discovery size is much smaller at around 2 tcf, compared to Mozambique which is over 7 tcf. Discoveries in Tanzania are also more spread out, so developing them will be more expensive than those in Mozambique because additional infrastructure will be required.”

One of the most immediate challenges for Mozambique, is the unitisation discussions which Wood Mackenzie understands have already begun. Kelly explains; “Of the 85 tcf of gas discovered to date in Mozambique, around half of it is thought to be one enormous field which is in communication across the block. Under Mozambican law, a unitisation agreement between the operating parties will be required.”

Although there is a risk that unitisation discussions could delay Final Investment Decision (FID) – the crucial last step before commercial development – and therefore LNG production, there are other discoveries which are wholly contained in Area 1 and Area 4 and therefore gas could come from these first.

Giles Farrer, Senior LNG research analyst for Wood Mackenzie comments: “Many challenges will need to be overcome prior to LNG project sanction. The region’s remoteness and lack of development present serious technical obstacles. There is virtually no existing skilled workforce and both Mozambique and Tanzania will have to build and establish deepwater ports capable of servicing the needs of the petroleum sector. On the commercial side, there is the question of government capacity – whether there is sufficient impetus and capability within the governments and national oil companies to advance the huge legislative, bureaucratic, customs and financial challenges that such a development would bring.

“The major outstanding milestone for Mozambique is the conclusion of a commercial framework agreement, which is in the process of being negotiated. It will determine how the LNG facility or facilities will be structured for the purpose of taxation and whether the Joint Ventures (JVs) will co-operate in the construction of a single, mega LNG facility, or pursue individual developments. One crucial advantage that the Tanzanian projects enjoy is that they have already negotiated commercial terms, prior to the announcement of their projects.”

Farrer continues: “Lastly there is the question of finance, we estimate that a two train greenfield development in the region is going to cost at least US$25 billion, and for some of the players involved financing their share of this sort of development cost will certainly prove challenging and could delay development.”

The joint analysis by Wood Mackenzie’s upstream and LNG research teams stresses that these challenges are not insurmountable. “They have been encountered and overcome in several countries before. The risk is that delays could lengthen development schedules and add to costs,” Farrer says in closing.

Wood Mackenzie: East Africa’s Yet-to-Find Reserves Hold 95 tcf of Gas| Offshore Energy Today.

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BG Group makes fourth gas discovery in Tanzania

by  BG Group

Press Release

Monday, March 26, 2012

BG Group announced Monday a fourth Tanzanian gas discovery from the Jodari-1 exploration well located in Block 1 offshore southern Tanzania. Preliminary evaluation of the well results indicates gross recoverable resources are in the range of 2.5 to 4.4 trillion cubic feet (tcf) of gas.

The partnership of BG Group (60 percent and operator) and Ophir Energy (40 percent) have had exploration successes in all four wells so far drilled in Tanzania, with mean total gross recoverable resources currently estimated to be approaching some 7 tcf of gas.

Jodari-1 is located approximately 24 miles (39 kilometers) offshore southern Tanzania and in a water depth of 3,770 feet (1,150 meters). It is part of the current three-to-four well exploration program, which also includes the acquisition of 965 square miles (2,500 square kilometers) of 3D seismic data in Block 1.

The next target for drilling is the Mzia-1 location in Block 1, some 14 miles (23 kilometers) to the north of Jodari-1. The discoveries announced previously are Chaza-1 in Block 1, and the Chewa-1 and Pweza-1 discoveries in Block 4.

Source

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UK: Shell Tables USD 1.56 bln Bid for Cove

Shell’s subsidiary, Shell Bidco has placed a bid £992.4 million (USD 1.56 billion) to acquire the entire issued and to be issued share capital of UK headquartered Cove Energy.

The bid comes one month after the decision announced by Cove to conduct a formal sale process for the company. Shell Bidco is a participant in the formal sale process and, as a result of such participation, Shell Bidco and Cove are near agreement on the full terms and conditions of a recommended cash offer by Shell Bidco for Cove. According to the report on Cove Energy’s website, Shell will pay 195 pence for each Cove share.

Still, the making of the Firm Intention Announcement is subject to, and conditional upon, the receipt of written consent of the Republic of Mozambique’s Minister of Mineral Resources which is related to Cove’s 8.5 per cent  participating interest in the Mozambique Rovuma Offshore Area 1 Block (the “Rovuma Area 1 Interest”),

Cove to assist with approvals

East Africa focused Cove has agreed, for as long as the Board of Cove expects to recommend the Proposed Offer, to assist Shell Bidco in relation to obtaining any required governmental consents, including the Mozambique Consent, as soon as reasonably practicable after the release of this announcement.

Shell’s decision to announce this Proposed Offer for Cove fits with Shell’s strategic aim to drive forward with its investment programme, to deliver sustainable growth and to provide competitive returns to shareholders.

East Africa is a major prospective hydrocarbon province, which has seen a significant increase in exploration activity in recent years. Shell already has interests in Tanzania, and the acquisition of Cove would mark Shell’s entry into exciting new hydrocarbon provinces in Kenya and Mozambique, with significant potential for new LNG from recent gas discoveries offshore Mozambique, and further complementary exploration positions in East Africa. In Mozambique, the Rovuma offshore basin is a frontier exploration area that holds large resources of natural gas reserves, suitable for LNG projects. According to Cove, the play represents the potential for 30+ tcf and 6 LNG trains.

Mozambique prosperity

“Shell understands that bringing these resources on stream is a strategic priority for the Mozambican Government in order to foster further economic and community development in the country, and Shell is committed to being a partner in that process,” said Shell in a statement.

Shell is one of the world’s largest LNG producers, with one of the most diverse LNG portfolios and access to strategic global markets with equity sales volumes of 18.83 mtpa of LNG in 2011. Shell holds the largest equity share of LNG capacity among IOCs – currently holding some 20.5 mtpa of equity LNG capacity on-stream. Adding Cove’s assets to Shell’s portfolio would strengthen and further diversify Shell’s existing global LNG portfolio of production and development projects. Furthermore, Shell has set industry records for LNG plant construction times and operational start-ups, safely delivering projects from concept to first production for/with its partners. In joint ventures with partners, Shell currently produces LNG in Australia, Brunei, Malaysia, Nigeria, Oman, Russia and Qatar, with excellent production reliability performance achieved at all these plants.

In addition to Shell’s technical expertise, its marketing and shipping know-how is designed to enable the delivery of long-term added value together with project partners. Shell has access to the key LNG markets of Europe, Asia Pacific and  North America. In 2011, Shell joint ventures supplied more than 30 per cent. of global LNG volumes. Shell would also bring its extensive project finance experience across the LNG value chain. Shell’s experience in LNG project finance extends over many projects, e.g.: Oman LNG, Nigeria LNG, Qatargas 4, Sakhalin.

Shell management said it was confident that its innovative technologies, leading plant designs, unmatched LNG operational experience and proven commercialisation strategies, combined with the experience of the operator of the Mozambique Rovuma Offshore Area 1 Block and the joint venture partners can add significant value to the project.

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Statoil, ExxonMobil Strike Gas Off Tanzania

Statoil and partner ExxonMobil confirmed that the Zafarani-1 well in Block 2 offshore Tanzania has encountered indications of natural gas in a good quality reservoir.

Drilling operations are still on-going and it is too early to give any indication of size and commerciality, Statoil said in a statement.

The well was spudded in early January 2012 and drilling operations are expected to take up to a total of 3 months to complete.

The well is being drilled by the drill ship Ocean Rig Poseidon and is located some 80 kilometers off mainland Tanzania.

It is the first exploration well that has been drilled in the license which covers an area of approximately 5,500 square kilometers. The water depth at the well location is 2,582 meters and the well itself is planned to reach a total depth of 5,150 meters.

Statoil operates the license on Block 2 on behalf of Tanzania Petroleum Development Corporation (TPDC) and has a 65% working interest with ExxonMobil Exploration and Production Tanzania Ltd. holding the remaining 35%.

Statoil has been in Tanzania since 2007 when it was awarded the license for Block 2.

“TPDC is pleased about these preliminary results and is eagerly awaiting further information on this operation,” says Yona Killaghane, Managing Director of TPDC.

The final assessment of what has been encountered will be released at a later stage once drilling operations have been completed and the well results fully analyzed, Statoil said.

Source

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Worldwide Field Development News Dec 30 – Jan 5, 2012

This week the SubseaIQ team added 1 new projects and updated 16 projects. You can see all the updates made over any time period via the Project Update History search. The latest offshore field develoment news and activities are listed below for your convenience.

Africa – Other BG Group, Ophir Commence Drilling Program Offshore Tanzania Jan 3, 2012 – BG Group has commenced exploratory drilling in Block 1 offshore Tanzania using the Deepsea Metro-1 (UDW drillship). The first three wells in the program will be Jodari-1, Mzia-1 and Papa-1. The operator will drill the Mzia-1 top hole section first, as part of a batch drilling program, then the rig will move to drill Jodari-1 in its entirety, before returning to Mzia-1 to complete the bottom portion of the well. Ophir spudded the Mzia-1 well in 4,921 feet (1,500 meters) of water on Jan. 1, 2012, which should take seven to 10 days. The operator will then spud the Jodari-1 well in a water depth of 3,789 feet (1,155 meters) and drill to total depth of 15,092 feet (4,600 meters) in 40 days. The Jodari prospect contains multiple stacked targets in both the Tertiary and Cretaceous sections with the former having seismic flat spot and amplitude fit to structure. Jodari is modeled to contain mean resources of 2.2 Tcf in the stacked targets. BG Group operates the blocks with a 60 percent stake; while Ophir holds the remaining interest. N. America – US GOM McMoRan Drills Ahead in Blackbeard East Well Jan 5, 2012 – McMoRan has reached a true vertical depth of 33,400 feet (10,180 meters) in the Blackbeard East by-pass well, and logging operations for the section below 30,800 feet (9,388 meters) are under way. Wireline logs indicated that Blackbeard East encountered hydrocarbon bearing sands in the Oligocene with good porosity below 30,000 feet (9,144 meters). The well previously encountered 178 net feet (54 meters) of hydrocarbons in the Miocene sands above 25,000 feet (7,620 meters). Pressure and temperature data below the salt weld between 19,500 feet (5,944 meters) and 24,600 feet (7,498 meters) at Blackbeard East indicate that a completion at these depths could utilize conventional equipment and technologies. The Blackbeard East exploration well lies in 80 feet (24 meters) of water on South Timbalier Block 144. McMoRan operates the block, holding a 38.5% interest; PXP holds 31.5%; EXXI holds 18.0%; W.A. “Tex” Moncrief, Jr. holds 10%; and a private investor holds 1.6%. Project Details: Blackbeard East McMoRan Completes Activities at Davy Jones Discovery Jan 5, 2012 – McMoRan is moving forward with completion activities of the Davy Jones No. 1 discovery well at South Marsh Island Block 230 in the GOM. Installation of the central processing facility for the Davy Jones No. 1 well and sales pipelines were completed. The operator plans to proceed with the completion and flow testing of the well once the wellbore is cleared. Once a flow test is completed, McMoRan expects first production from the well to be established. As previously reported, McMoRan has drilled two wells on the field. The operator expects to complete and flow test both wells in 2012. Davy Jones is located on South Marsh Island Block 234 in 20 feet (6 meters) of water. McMoran operates the block, holding a 32.7% interest; PXP holds 27.7%; EXXI holds 15.8%; Nippon Oil holds 12%; W.A. “Tex” Moncrief, Jr. holds 8.8%; and a private investor holds the remaining 3% interest. Project Details: Davy Jones Africa – West Shell Resumes Bonga Production Jan 5, 2012 – Shell has restarted production at its Bonga oil field offshore Nigeria, after an oil leak was detected. The facility was closed after a leak during a tanker loading operation on Dec. 20, leading to a serious oil spill, announced Dow Jones newswires. Shell says it completed the clean-up from the spill and resumed output on Jan. 1 at the 200,000 bopd oil field. The Bonga field is located 75 miles (120 kilometers) offshore Nigeria in Oil Prospecting License 212. SNEPCo (55%) under a Production Sharing Contract with Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) operates Bonga. Project Details: Bonga Maersk Hits Oil Pay in Pre-Salt Well in Angola Jan 4, 2012 – Maersk Oil and partners have made a discovery in the Azul-1 deepwater exploration well in Block 23 in the Kwanza Basin offshore Angola. Azul-1, drilled in a water depth of 3,028 feet (923 meters), reached a final depth of 17,500 feet (5,334 meters). The condition of the well prevented an assessment of flow capacity by a conventional test, which was performed as a mini-DST. This test enabled the recovery of two good quality oil samples. Maersk says the preliminary interpretation of the data indicate a potential flow capacity greater than 3,000 bopd. The operator will further evaluate the results of the discovery and will proceed with exploratory work in the block. Maersk Oil is the operator of Block 23 with a 50 percent interest. Partners in the block consist of Svenska (30 percent) and Sonangol (20 percent). Ophir Targets March to Conduct Appraisal Drilling in Block R Jan 3, 2012 – Ophir Energy expects to secure a rig to commence a three-to-four well drilling program in the extended Block R offshore Equatorial Guinea. The program, which is designed to demonstrate sufficient gas volumes to underpin a planned second LNG train in Equatorial Guinea, will include one or more appraisal wells on Ophir’s Fortuna-1 discovery, plus exploration wells on the Tonel and Silenus prospects. Drilling should commence in late March. Ophir believes that the gas volumes in Block R are likely to range between 2 to 4 Tcf with additional upside potential in as-yet untested play types. Ophir operates the block with an 80 percent stake. Seismic Program Commences Offshore Gabon Jan 3, 2012 – Ophir Energy has commenced a 3D seismic program in the Mbeli and Ntsina licenses offshore Gabon. The operator is acquiring 518,921 acres (2,100 square kilometers) of data, which should take 42 days to complete. The survey is specifically designed to mature pre-salt targets for drilling in late 2012. Ophir operates the licenses with a 50 percent interest; while Statoil holds the remaining interest. Kosmos Plans to Further Appraise Teak in 1Q12 Jan 3, 2012 – Kosmos Energy plans to commence appraisal drilling on the Teak-4 well in first quarter 2012. Teak is located in the West Cape Three Points Block, which Kosmos Energy operates with a 30.875 percent interest. Partners in the license include Anadarko Petroleum (30.875 percent), Tullow Oil (26.396 percent), Sabre Oil & Gas (1.854 percent) and Ghana National Petroleum (10 percent). Project Details: Teak S. America – Other & Carib. BPZ Energy Plans to Install 2nd Platform on Corvina Field in 2H12 Jan 5, 2012 – BPZ Energy expects to install the new CX-15 platform on the Corvina field and begin a development drilling campaign in the second half of 2012. Two wells are scheduled to be completed during 2012 with first oil production expected in the fourth quarter. The Corvina oil and gas field is situated in the offshore Block Z-1 in northwest Peru. BPZ Energy operates the field with a 100% interest in the license. Project Details: Corvina Rockhopper Completes Sidetrack Dec 30, 2011 – Rockhopper Exploration has completed coring and logging operations at well 14/15-4z in the Falkland Basin. The sidetrack well, about 41 feet (12.5 meters) from the main wellbore, reached a total depth of 8,383 feet (2,555 meters) MD. A total of 377 feet (115 meters) of core was cut through the hydrocarbon-bearing Beverley, Casper South, Casper and Sea Lion reservoirs bringing the total amount of core cut during the entire drilling campaign to 1,493 feet (455 meters). Rockhopper says that drilling of the well has completed the commitments required to earn the 60 percent interest and operatorship of license PL004b. The well will now be plugged and abandoned. Project Details: Sea Lion Australia Apache Plans to Appraise Zola in 2012 Jan 3, 2012 – Apache plans to acquire new 3D seismic data over the Zola gas discovery, located in WA-290-P, in June 2012 with processing to follow. Appraisal drilling is set to follow. The field is located in a water depth of 935 feet (285 meters) offshore Western Australia. Apache operates the permit, holding a 30.25% interest. Project Details: Zola Europe – North Sea Aker to Supply Production System for Boyla Development Jan 5, 2012 – Marathon awarded Aker Solutions a contract to supply a subsea production system for the Boyla (formerly Marihone) development in the Norwegian sector of the North Sea. The scope of work includes engineering, procurement, construction and delivery of four subsea trees, four over-trawlable subsea structures and control systems. Final deliveries will be made in 1Q 2013. The Boyla field, located in Production License 340 in 394 feet (120 meters) of water, will be subsea tied-back to the Alvheim FPSO. Marathon operates the project with a 65 percent interest; while ConocoPhillips holds 20 percent; and Lundin holds 15 percent. Project Details: Alvheim Statoil Finds More Oil in Gullfaks Area Jan 5, 2012 – Statoil found more oil in the Skinfaks South field in the Norwegian sector of the North Sea. The operator confirmed the discovery of light oil in Middle Jurassic reservoir rocks (Brent group) and an 262-foot (80-meter) high column in good-quality reservoir rocks. Drilled to a vertical depth of 12,211 feet (3,722 meters), the well concluded in the Drake formation in Middle Jurassic rocks. The field is located on Block 33/12, directly west of the Gullfaks field in the Tampen area. Serving as operator of the block is Statoil with a 70 percent interest; while Petoro holds the remaining interest. Project Details: Greater Gullfaks Area Noreco Divests Interests in PL 435 Dec 30, 2011 – Norwegian Energy Company (Noreco) has completed the sale of its interest in license PL 435, containing the gas discovery Zidane-1, to OMV. Noreco is also under certain conditions entitled to an additional consideration if a discovery is made in the upcoming exploration well Zidane-2. The license contains the Zidane-1 gas discovery, which was made in 2010, and is estimated to contain between 5 and 18 Bcm of recoverable gas. Project Details: Zidane S. America – Brazil Petrobras Signs Lease, Operating Contract for Marlim Sul FPSO Jan 5, 2012 – SBM Offshore has received an extension of 26 months for the lease and operating contract of the Marlim Sul FPSO from Petrobras. The extension begins in April 2012, at the end of the initial lease period, which was eight years. The vessel is capable of processing 100,000 bopd and 2.3 MMcm/d of gas compression. The produced gas is exported through Campos Basin pipelines. The vessel is moored in a water depth of 4,692 feet (1,430 meters), and has five oil producers and four water injectors tied-back to the FPSO. Project Details: Marlim Sul (South) Petrobras Finds Light Oil in Golfinho Concession Jan 3, 2012 – Petrobras has discovered a light oil and natural gas accumulation in the Golfinho Concession (4-BRSA-1001-ESS) offshore Brazil. The discovery was made during the drilling of well 4-GLF-31-ESS, known as Tambuata, in a water depth of 4,987 feet (1,520 meters). Petrobras will continue to drill the well at a depth of 20,013 feet (6,100 meters) in order to test deeper formations. Reservoirs from the Cretaceous Period, Santonian Age were identified and are already producing in the field, at a depth between 14,862 and 15,322 feet (4,530 and 4,670 meters), stated the operator. The reservoirs are in good condition for production. Petrobras Submits DOC for Guara Development Jan 3, 2012 – Petrobras has submitted a Declaration of Commerciality with the Brazilian National Agency of Petroluem, Natural Gas and Biofuels for the accumulations of light oil and gas in the Guara area. This declaration marks the start of the production phase for the field. The consortium will rename the field as Sapinhoa. The consortium drilled four wells in the area, including one well designed for reservoir data acquisition. Drill stem tests were performed on three of the wells. In addition, a five-month extended well test was carried out on the discovery well, confirming the excellent productivity of the Guara reservoir. Data gathered from this test will assist in the optimization of the field development plan. Guara is located in Block BM-S-6 about 186 miles (300 kilometers) off the Sao Paulo state coast. Petrobras serves as the operator of the consortium, holding a 45 percent interest; while BG Group holds 30 percent; and Repsol Sinopec Brazil holds 25 percent. Project Details: Sapinhoa (Guara) Petrobras Estimates Guara Presalt Area Holds 2.1B BOE Dec 30, 2011 – Petrobras estimates that the Guara presalt area holds roughly 2.1 Bbbl of oil equivalent in Brazil’s Santos basin. The new field, located in BM-S-9 block, is formed by reservoirs of high-quality oil. Petrobras sent a declaration of viability to Brazil’s national oil regulator, ANP, a year ahead of the deadline it was given. The company plans to submit a development plan to the organization in February.

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Ophir Begins with Drilling Operations Offshore Tanzania

Ophir announces the start of its 2012 drilling programme in Tanzania with the drillship Odfjell Metro-1. The first three wells in the programme will be Jodari-1, Mzia-1 (previously named 1W) and Papa-1 (previously named 3A).

The Metro-1 is a state-of-the-art drillship capable of drilling in water depths of up to 3,000m. The rig has a dual derrick with a main work centre and an auxiliary work centre to facilitate a number of simultaneous operations. Both work  centres are equipped for drilling. The Metro-1 was built at the Hyundai Heavy Industries yard in Ulsan, South Korea and a detailed series of acceptance tests have been performed ahead of mobilisation to Tanzania.

The Jodari-1 and Mzia-1 wells are both located in Block 1. For efficiency reasons the Mzia-1 top hole section will be drilled first, as part of a batch drilling programme, then the rig will move to drill Jodari-1 in its entirety, before returning to Mzia-1 to complete the bottom portion of the well.

The Mzia-1 well spudded in 1,500m of water on 1 January 2012 and drilling of the top hole section is expected to take 7 to 10 days. Thereafter the Jodari-1 well will spud in a water depth of 1,155m and drill to total depth of c 4,600m subsea in an estimated 40 days. The Jodari prospect contains multiple stacked targets in both the Tertiary and Cretaceous sections with the former having seismic flat spot and amplitude fit to structure. Jodari is modelled by Ophir to contain mean resources of 2.2Tcf in the stacked targets.

Ophir holds 40% of Blocks 1, 3 and 4 and has now fully handed over operatorship to 60% partner BG International, who will manage the programme with the Metro-1.

Ophir CEO, Nick Cooper said: “2012 has the potential to be transformational for Ophir. We are pleased to start the year by kicking off our Tanzanian drilling programme and also to see drilling and seismic operations gearing up across our other key assets. Ophir plans to drill at least 9 wells across our portfolio in 2012.”

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Tanzania to Protect Seimic Vessels from Somali Pirates

Tanzania has ordered its army to escort ships searching for oil and gas off its coast to protect them from Somali pirates.

The East African country has licensed at least 17 international companies to look for offshore and onshore energy reserves.

“Due to increased piracy attacks, we have been compelled to beef up security in our territory,” Tanzanian Prime Minister Mizengo Pinda told parliament late on Saturday.

“The first step has been to provide escorts to vessels that request security assistance when they enter our territorial waters and the second is for the government to provide protection to vessels exploring for gas and oil in our ocean.”

Companies exploring in Tanzania include Canada’s Artumas Group Inc (AGI) , France’s Maurel & Prom , Norway’s StatoilHydro ASA, Shell International and Ras al-Khaimah Gas Commission of United Arab Emirates.

Somalia’s lack of effective central government has allowed piracy to flourish offshore and deep into the Indian Ocean despite a flotilla of international warships.

Armed pirate gangs have made millions of dollars demanding ransoms for ships captured as far south as the Seychelles and eastwards towards India.

Pinda said Tanzanian authorities had so far arrested 11 Somali pirates in its waters and prosecuted all the suspects.

Tanzania this month postponed its fourth deep offshore bidding round to next year to allow it to offer new blocks discovered by a new seismic survey.

By Fumbuka Ng’wanakilala (Reuters)

Original Article