The project was shelved during the administration of former President John Pombe Magufuli, who prioritised the East Africa Crude Oil Pipeline, which will transport oil from Uganda to the Tanzanian port of Tanga. 

“We expect to conclude negotiations for a number government agreement and review production sharing agreements by June next year. Compensation process have been finalized to pave way for the project,” said Kalemani.

Gas from Shell's Blocks 1 and 4 and Equinor's Block 2 will be routed from deep-water subsea wells to two or three liquefaction trains at Lindi as part of the project. These blocks contain around 35 trillion cubic feet of recoverable gas, which is distributed roughly evenly across the assets of the two operators.

According to Shell, the offshore deepwater gas in Tanzania's south is found in fields more than 100 kilometres offshore, some of which are in water up to 2,500 metres deep and 2,500 metres below the seabed. The fields can be separated by more than 100 kilometres.

Because of its depth, distance, and terrain, the Tanzania LNG project is at the cutting edge of deep sea exploration technology, and it presents a unique opportunity for the local supply chain and TPDC to develop unique competencies and capabilities as the project overcomes these technical challenges. 

“Meanwhile, discussions are ongoing on another LNG plant which will involve construction of a two- train onshore that will export gas from the country. Other project partners include Royal Dutch Shell Plc, Exxon Mobil Corp., Sophi Energy Ltd. and Pavilion Energy Pte Ltd.  A pipeline network to connect and distribute gas to more than 10,000 homes and factories, in the Dar es Salaam is also being developed by the government,” said Kalemani.