Shell continues with Tanzania LNG push

Energy giant Shell is continuing to push towards the development of Tanzania’s stalled LNG export project which includes sending the country’s offshore gas resources to a liquefaction plant in Lindi.

Shell’s chief executive Ben van Beurden held a virtual bilateral meeting on Monday with Tanzania’s President Samia Suluhu Hassan, according to a statement by the president’s office.

The statement said that van Beurden “thanked President Samia for her efforts and determination in creating conducive investment environment for the LNG project in Tanzania.”

On the other side, President Samia thanked the Shell chief for the interest to invest in the LNG project saying that the development would boost the country’s economic growth.

The statement did not reveal any additional information.

Shell and Equinor working on LNG export development

LNG Prime contacted Shell for a comment on the matter.

A Shell spokesperson confirmed that van Beurden and President Samia held a meeting to “discuss their shared interests in developing Tanzania’s energy sector.”

“The CEO expressed his appreciation of the President and the Government of Tanzania’s prioritisation of the LNG opportunity. He confirmed his strong support for continued collaboration with the government, along with the other investors including Equinor, to create the conditions for future investment,” the spokesperson said.

Shell and Equinor have earlier this year called on Tanzania to support the stalled LNG export project.

The move came just weeks after President Samia took office.

Equinor and Shell are both operators of large gas discoveries off the country’s coast.

The Norwegian firm has with partner ExxonMobil discovered more than 20 trillion cubic feet of gas in Block 2 offshore Tanzania. Also, Shell says it has about 16 Tcf of natural gas in Block 1 and 4.

Equinor also said in January it had decided to write down the book value of the Tanzania LNG project on the company’s balance sheet by $982 million. The firm started negotiations with the Tanzania government back in 2018 to set out the commercial and fiscal framework for the LNG project.

It previously said that the Block 2 gas would go to the liquefaction plant in Lindi with a potential capacity of 7.5 million tonnes per year. Equinor also said it had expected the cost to build such a project would reach about $20 billion.

Most Popular

TotalEnergies CEO expects US financing for Mozambique LNG to be approved in weeks

In May 2020, EXIM voted to amend the agency's previously approved September 2019 direct loan supporting US exports for...

Greek and German firms place orders for LNG-powered vessels in China and Korea

Reports by Intermodal and other brokers suggest that Greece's Sun Enterprises and TMS Group and Germany's Peter Dohle ordered...

Gastrade: Alexandroupolis FSRU remains offline due to technical issue

"For the moment, regasification services have been suspended due to a technical issue, for which we will provide further...

More News Like This

Peru LNG terminal sent three cargoes in January

According to the shipment data by state-owned Perupetro, during January, the 4.4 mtpa LNG plant sent two shipments to...

Shell names new Canada head

UK-based LNG giant Shell has named Stastia West as the new president and country chair for its Canadian business...

Shell still expects mid-year launch for LNG Canada

Shell's finance chief, Sinead Gorman, told analysts during Shell's fourth-quarter earnings call on Thursday that LNG Canada is making...

CFO: Shell hopes to get approvals for Pavilion deal in Q1

Asked about the completion of the transaction during Shell's fourth-quarter earnings call on Thursday, Gorman said that the company...