TOP officials from the High Commission of India in Tanzania have met and held talks with Petroleum Upstream Regulatory Authority (PURA) leadership about auction of petroleum exploration blocks in Tanzania Mainland scheduled for later this year.

According to a statement availed to the media yesterday, the talks took place on Tuesday at PURA offices in Dar es Salaam and attended by the Second Secretary to the High Commissioner (Commerce) Narender Kumar and  Danstan Asanga, PURA acting director general alongside other officials from both sides.

Speaking during the meeting, Kumar said that upon learning of the government’s plan to auction oil and gas blocks through the Ministry of Energy budget estimates speech for the year 2024/25, the Indian High Commission deemed it necessary to meet with the relevant authority to thoroughly understand the matter to enable it provide comprehensive information to companies and stakeholders in India.

“We hope that companies from India will be interested in this information which is why we have decided to seek further details that can enable them make decisions to participate in the forthcoming bidding round and ultimately invest in oil and gas exploration and production activities in Tanzania,” he said.

Providing details about the fifth licencing round, Asanga said that PURA, on behalf of the government, has continued with preparations for the event and that several activities have been completed, including preparation of model production sharing agreement which has been submitted to the Ministry of Energy for further action.

Other activities include demarcation of the blocks to be auctioned after obtaining approval from the Ministry of Energy and preparation of petroleum data packages.

Additionally, Asanga noted that a review of the Petroleum Act of 2015 was underway to identify sections requiring amendments and that PURA was participating in the review.

Regarding the timing of the bidding process,  Asanga said that the auctioning of blocks will take place shortly after the completion of preliminary preparations including the review of the Petroleum Act of 2015 and that the government plans to launch the fifth licencing round later this year.

In addition to discussing the fifth licencing around, the High Commission of India in Tanzania and PURA also explored the possibility of establishing cooperation between oil and gas exploration and production regulatory authorities in the two countries.

They also discussed the possibility of collaborating in capacity building programmes for personnel in the field of oil and natural gas through funding from the government of India.