The oil and gas sector was reeling in shock yesterday following a
government decision to review its contracts.
Ophir Energy, a UK-based oil and
gas exploration firm that has operations in Mafia Island and Ruvuma basin, was
the hardest hit: Its shares at the
London Stock Exchange (LSE) tumbled by 6.2 per cent on Monday.
Analysts praised the decision, describing it as a milestone in the
country’s efforts to benefit more from its resources.
Industry sources told The Citizen that investors are always cautious
about policy statements but the decision was right. The chief executive officer of Tanzania
Securities, Mr Moremi Marwa, said:
“To investors, the minister’s statement was
discouraging for it supposes that we are a country that lacks consistent and
sustainable policies.....However, as a Tanzanian, I’m in complete support of
the initiative because it seeks to make sure that Tanzania benefits more from
its rich natural resources.”
He was quick to allay fears that the review may hurt Tanzania’s
investment climate. “Foreign investors do undertake a thorough analysis of the
risks associated with investing in a country,” he said, “so I’m certain the
aspect of consistence and sustainability of Tanzania’s policies was well
considered by all investors.”
Ophir Energy issued a statement declaring that it has met all
requirements for operating in Tanzania and welcomes the review process. The
firm’s remarks echoed a collective statement through the Tanzania Chamber of
Mines and Energy (TCME) that it had no problem with the government reviewing
the production sharing agreements because they are “public documents in public
domain”.
But the TCME chairman, Mr Joseph Kahama, urged the government to work
with the firms in a transparent and participatory manner and set a timeline for
the exercise.
“The production sharing agreements are public documents in the
public domain and so we have no problem with the review,” he said. “We can only
urge the government to desist from doing this unilaterally. Consultations must
be made in a timely and transparent manner.”
Ophir Energy and its partner BG Group have made six consecutive gas
finds off Tanzania and recently raised their estimate of total resources to
between 13.5 and 21 trillion cubic feet. The find is enough to sustain a
liquefied natural gas project to export the commodity on tankers.
But, in an interesting rejoinder, the Shadow Finance and Economic
Affairs minister, Mr Zitto Kabwe, said the minister’s remarks were unfortunate
and bent on creating unnecessary uncertainty in the sector.
In a statement emailed to The Citizen, he added: “These irresponsible
statements by the minister for Energy and Minerals will cost our country dearly
not only in developing the crucial oil and gas sector but also in attracting
foreign direct investment.
What is needed in Tanzania is transparency of
contracts, sanctity of contracts and building the crucial capacity of TPDC and
not mere words from the minister who actually signs the contracts.”
According to Mr Kabwe, the review of the contracts will earn the
country no points and the only winner in the process will be the minister, who
will gain only short-lived publicity.
“What the minister is unaware of is the fact that many reviews have
been done and nothing has been done about it,” he added, noting that the
Parliamentary committee on Public Organisations (POAC) had asked TPDC through
the office of the Controller and Auditor General to audit all contracts. Of the 26 contracts, though, only four were reportedly audited and one
(PanAfrica Energy) was found to have inflated costs to the tune of $26 million.
Mr Kabwe added: “The review will add nothing except a short-lived
publicity for the minister for his cowboy approach while throwing the sector
into huge uncertainty and slowing down momentum. The oil and gas companies are
very cautious and one thing is certain: They don’t work in uncertain
environments where contracts are under threat of being revoked.”
What Tanzania needs is transparency, he said. The contracts must be
made public and the new law must give Parliament the powers to approve the
contracts. “That is the transformation we need to ensure that our country
benefits from its resources,” he said. “If the minister is serious about
walking the talk, he must bring these amendments to Parliament, instead of
uttering irresponsible statements in press conferences.”
According to Mr Kabwe, the other radical transformation Tanzania needs
is to enact the Petroleum Revenue Management Act.
As Tanzania is competing with neighbouring Mozambique to build the
first Liquefied Natural Gas plant to supply the Far East Asian markets, he
added, it was time the country started walking the talk instead of making
statements that discourage investors.
Source: The Citizen,http://www.thecitizen.co.tz, reported by Samuel Kamndaya
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