Posted on :Tuesday , 30th August 2016

 After completing the construction of Tanzania’s Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) plant in Lindi, production is expected to continue for at least 40 years.

The announcement was made by Oystein Michelse, Statoil Country Representative, during talks with Tanzania’s President John Magufuli on August 22nd 2016.

Michelse noted that the Norwegian Government has committed to implementing the project for the benefit of both sides and urged the Government of Tanzania to continue supporting the construction of the Lindi gas plant.

President Magufuli ensured Michelse that the Tanzanian Government is committed to facilitating the implementation of the Lindi LNG plant.

The plant will be constructed by international oil and gas companies Statoil, BG Group, ExxonMobil and Ophir Energy in partnership with the Tanzania Petroleum Development Corporation (TPDC).

The construction is expected to take up to 40 months at the cost of USD30b with production expected to commence in 2021 or 2022.

The plant will be located in the southern town of Lindi close to the deep-sea offshore blocks where most of Tanzania’s gas discoveries have been made.

For this, the Government will have to build gas pipes from the sea to the plant with length of 100–200km. Tanzania has the second largest natural gas reserves in East Africa with more than 55 trillion cubic feet (tcf) so far discovered, behind Mozambique with 100 tcf according to the Energy Information Administration (EIA).