ARA Petroleum receives 25-year development licence in Ntorya gas field

ARA Petroleum Tanzania and its development partner Aminex Plc have received a 25-year development licence over the Ntorya Gas discovery in Tanzania from the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Energy of Tanzania, Doto Mashaka Biteko

“We were honoured to receive this licence from Deputy Prime Minister Doto Biteko at such a prestigious event. This ceremony marked a significant milestone in our commitment to harness Tanzania’s gas resources for the benefit of its people. Our ambition for this serious endeavour is that it results in boosting economic development, alleviating energy poverty and supporting the country’s energy transition,” said Erhan Saygi, general manager, ARA Petroleum Tanzania, commenting on the handover ceremony that took place in Mtwara.

APT has acquired land for the installation of upstream processing facilities, and the Chikumbi-1 appraisal well location, while expanding an adjacent site to accommodate the construction of a camp and storage yard. It is also putting into place the logistics necessary to conduct the subsurface work that will lead to first gas production. This includes conducting a well-test on Ntorya-2 and converting it to a producing well, drilling the Chikumbi-1 appraisal well with a view to converting it to a producing well and carrying out a well workover at Ntorya-1, before turning it into a producing well. 

The company is aiming the completion of pipeline placement from Ntorya to Madimba by early next year, working in line with the Tanzanian government's ambitions to enable gas delivery for electricity generation in the Mtwara region. 

According to a Gas Sales Agreement signed with the Tanzanian Petroleum Development Corporation (TPDC) earlier this year, APT expects an initial yield of 40 to 60 mn st cu/ft a day in the first year, gradually boosting production to 140 mn st cu/ft over the next few years. 

This estimate is backed by strikingly positive 3D seismic datasets from the region, indicating significant potential gas volumes in other untested structures over the wider licence area. To emphasise just how significant the potential gas volumes might be, Charles Santos, the executive chairman of Aminex, has said that the Ntorya accumulation can become the largest onshore gas discovery in East Africa. 

This, however, will require investment in a phased development of the Ntorya gas field and the maturing of domestic industries as gas offtakers, such as fertiliser, cement and plastics production plants, vehicle CNG stations, domestic LPG suppliers and additional gas-fired power stations for industrial and residential use.

Ntorya gas hub

“We are excited about further exploration and appraisal work in this area as we consider it to hold truly enormous volumes of gas. We believe this could be game-changing for Tanzania’s energy security, for Mtwara’s industrial development and for Tanzanians’ prosperity. We look forward to building strong partnerships with local businesses and entrepreneurs to share knowledge, impart expertise and build a home-grown industry around a Ntorya gas hub,” said Saygi.

APT has been actively involved in the Ruvuma Asset since 2020, before its interests in the region accumulated to 75% post acquisition from Scirocco Energy last year. The remaining 25% interest in the Ruvuma Asset is held by Aminex.