Policy Status, New Psas And A Proposed Power Plant For Mtwara

February passed with no further formal communication from MEM or TPDC on the status of the Natural Gas Policy though TPDC and the Minister of Energy and Minerals have made informal pronouncements suggesting that progress has been made. Elsewhere, there have been no further protests in Mtwara which is the location for a proposed new power plant and MEM have announced progress on the award of two new onshore PSAs.

Status of the policy

The Minister of Energy and Minerals, Prof. Sospeter Muhongo, was recently quoted as saying that the second draft of the Natural Gas Policy (Policy) has been completed and would be approved by Parliament before the end of the year. The Policy was first released in November of last year and was scheduled to be completed by the end of 2012.

Separately, the Tanzania Petroleum Development Corporation (TPDC) Director of Marketing and Investment, Joyce Kisamo, in her presentation at the East African Petroleum Conference & Exhibition that took place in Arusha from 6 to 8 February, stated that the Natural Gas Policy, Natural Gas Act and Utilisation Master Plan would all be published by June 2013. However, she did not discuss the status of the documents and what measures the government would take to achieve this ambitious timetable.

Given that the Policy was originally meant to be finalised last year and that it has not been finalised to date, it is unlikely that all three documents will be finalised by June 2013. This is especially so for the Natural Gas Act as it will not be able to pass through the full legislative process before June 2013. The Minister's reference to Parliamentary approval is likely to be a reference to the passage of the Act which is the only part of the new framework that will formally require Parliamentary approval.

Proposed new power plant for Mtwara

The Tanzania Electric Supply Company (Tanesco) has signed a memorandum of understanding with Symbion Power with a view to financing and constructing a 400MW gas powered electricity plant in Mtwara. The plant will serve the southern region of the country including Lindi and Ruvuma regions.

The power plant comes at a time when demand in the southern region is expected to increase with the proposed construction of cement and fertiliser factories in Mtwara and increased demand from Mtwara Airport. The plant would also provide electricity to Uranium One's planned mine in Ruvuma region.

The engineering study for the plant is scheduled to begin in March of...