Shell Gets 42 month extension in Block 1, Tanzania

The minister for energy in Tanzania has awarded an extension of Block 1 for a further three and a half years to Block operator Shell to provide sufficient time to complete pre-FEED and FEED ahead of investment approval.Earlier the companies had announced the awarding of a bridging license without any further details.

Already the company has completed the final exploration commitment well on Blocks 1 the unsuccessful Kitatange-1 well drilled in Q4 2017.

An extension for Block 4 is expected later in 2017 after the completion of the Bunju-1 well.

The Block 1 and 4 partners and the Government have to date signed a MoU for the project including the site of the LNG plant and the process for acquiring the land and for how any resettlement will be managed.

The project is currently in the pre-FEED stage and is expected to enter into FEED following the completion of the LNG site acquisition, the geotechnical investigations and engineering studies. In parallel, the concept selection for the upstream part of the project which will determine the configuration and production rates from each of the fields.

To date 17 Tcf of natural gas have been discovered in the two blocks. Among discoveries in Block 1 include: Taachui, Mzia, Mkizi, Jodari and Chaza while those in Block 4 include: Chewa, Ngisi, Kamba, Fulusi and Pweza.

The development of Blocks 1 and 4 is part of the Tanzania LNG project, which is a critical part of Tanzania’s national energy policy under the umbrella of the Vision 2025.

Shell formerly BG Tanzania has 60 percent interest in Block 1 and 4 while the other two joint venture partners in the blocks Ophir and Pavilion Energy retain 20 percent each.