Tanzania, DRC Partner in Joint Hydrocarbon Exploration of Lake Tanganyika

Tanzania and the Democratic Republic of Congo have agreed in joint exploration and development of hydrocarbons in Lake Tanganyika after talks between DRC president Joseph Kabila and Tanzanian President John Magufuli.

According to President Joseph Kabila the two neighbors who share the world’s second deepest lake alongside Burundi and Zambia believe there could be oil and gas reserves in the water body.

In November 2015 the Tanzania Petroleum Development Corporation (TPDC) announced it had started acquiring a non-invasive Airborne Gravity Gradiometry Survey over wholly operated Lake Tanganyika North Block which cuts across five districts namely; Kigoma rural, Kigoma, Ujiji, Uvinza and Mpanda rural.

The survey was expected to acquire high resolution gravity and magnetic data to map subsurface structural geological framework, thickness and extent of the sedimentary rocks over Lake Tanganyika rift basin.

To the south in the Lake Tanganyika South Block Beach Petroleum (Tanzania) Limited retains 100% of the LTS PSA and remains operator following the exit of Joint Venture partner Woodside Energy.

Also featuring in the talks is DRC’s participation in Hoima to Tanga crude oil pipeline as the central African country hopes to commence production in the next few years with Total E&P holding exploration blocks in Uganda and the DRC.

‘We have also discussed mutual cooperation in the proposed crude oil pipeline project to be constructed from Uganda to Tanzania. Uganda is expected to start producing oil soon and Congo will also in the next few years begin its own oil production,’ Kabila is quoted saying by Reuters.

In the DRC Total E&P RDC, operator of DRC’s Block III, has finalized the acquisition of the 2D seismic survey over the northern part of the Block III area while in Uganda the French oil giants preparing to enter the development phase after signing production agreements with the Ministry of Energy and Minerals development.