Tanzania Poise To become Africa Gas Exporter -

Tanzania-president-Samia-Suluhu-Hassan — **Tanzania-President-Samia-Suluhu-Hassan**

Tanzania is poised to become of the Africa’s largest Gas oil reserve country through a 42 billion dollar liquified natural Gas, (LNG) development project.

The LNG projected is expected to boost industrialisation, attract investment and strengthen the country ‘s position in Africa’s energy sector.

The project, led by Norwegian energy company Equinor and British energy giant Shell, is expected to unlock an estimated 47.13 trillion cubic feet of natural gas reserves, potentially placing Tanzania among Africa’s six largest holders of gas reserves.

Negotiations to advance the project stalled in 2023 after the Tanzanian government sought changes to a previously agreed fiscal framework.

The disagreements centred on legal provisions, dispute resolution mechanisms and revenue-sharing arrangements between the government and investors.

Implementation

However, in September 2026, the head of the Tanzania Petroleum Development Corporation (TPDC) announced that negotiations on commercial, fiscal and revenue-sharing terms were largely complete, raising expectations that the project could move towards implementation.

The development is expected to play a significant role in Tanzania’s economic transformation by expanding energy supplies, supporting industrial activities and generating government revenue.

If completed alongside other regional energy infrastructure projects, it could also strengthen Tanzania’s ambition to become a major energy hub for East Africa.

Regional Economic Growth

Uganda is expected to begin transporting crude oil through a pipeline to Tanzania’s port of Tanga in 2027, providing an additional boost to the country’s role in regional energy logistics.

Elsewhere in East Africa, construction has begun on a proposed 17-billion-dollar refinery in Kenya associated with Nigerian industrialist Aliko Dangote.

Further south, Mozambique is seeking to revive its position as a major LNG exporter following the resumption of construction in January on a 20-billion-dollar liquefied natural gas project led by French energy company, TotalEnergies.

The Mozambican project, one of the continent’s largest LNG developments, was suspended in 2021 as violence escalated in the northern Cabo Delgado province.

The parallel developments underscore growing efforts across Africa to harness natural gas and other energy resources to drive economic growth, attract foreign investment and expand the continent’s role in global energy markets.

For Tanzania, concluding the negotiations would represent a major step towards unlocking its substantial offshore gas resources, although the project’s progress will depend on final agreements and subsequent implementation.