Three Mnazi Bay wells to add 30m cubic feet of gas per day

Mnazi Bay Gas Field

GAS extraction is about to start at three new wells at the Mnazi Bay block in Mtwara Region, adding over 30 million standard cubic feet (mscf) per day to current production levels.

Three new natural gas wells are set for drilling in Tanzania’s Mnazi Bay gas field this June. The project is to be executed by the French oil and gas company, Maurel & Prom, as part of Tanzania’s broader strategy to bolster gas production in Tanzania. The drilling, which will run through to 2026, follows the company’s October 2024 announcement of an $80 million investment in the Mnazi Bay gas field. The project marks ten (10) years since the last well was drilled in that block.

Mr. Hussein Chitemo noted that the three new wells are expected to contribute 30 million cubic feet daily (MMcf/d) to the current output. Consequently, this will raise the company’s total natural gas production capacity to 130 MMcf/d. At present, Maurel & Prom produces an average of 100 MMcf/d from five existing wells. “The strategy has been endorsed at various high-level platforms, and we are now in the implementation phase,” Mr. Chitemo said. He also noted that the drilling will begin in June this year and continue until 2026.

Speaking at the opening of a workshop for contractors who will run the projects, organised in Dar es Salaam, the representative of the Director General of the Petroleum Upstream Regulatory Authority (PURA), Mr. Charles Nyangi, said this historic development in the Mnazi Bay Block is a result of the Government’s efforts to advance the oil and natural gas sub-sector.

Gas from the five wells is transported to the Tanzania Electric Supply Co. (TANESCO) at Mtwara and to the Madimba gas processing plant operated by GASCO, a subsidiary of the Tanzania Petroleum Development Corporation (TPDC), he said.

Extracting gas at the new wells marks a major step in strengthening Tanzania’s position as an emerging energy hub, supporting industrial activity and power generation through a steady supply of natural gas, he stated.