PanAfrican Energy Tanzania (PAT) has today taken delivery of the most
powerful land rig to currently operate in Tanzania. The arrival of the
rig signals the start of PAT’s new US130 million investment programme
to double gas production capacity at Songo Songo in order to meet
Tanzania’s growing need for additional power.
PAT, which currently supplies gas primarily for power generation to
the Tanzania Electric Supply Company (TANESCO) and Songas, as well as
industrial customers, expects to increase its gas production capacity
from 113 million standard cubic feet per day to over 250 million
standard cubic feet per day in the coming months.
The newly arrived Sakson PR5 drilling rig is expected to commence work
on the first of two new wells in late December as part of the ongoing
development of the Songo Songo field. In addition, the company expects
to spend a further US35m exploring Songo Songo West, which if
successful will add significant reserves.
Andrew Brown, General Manager of PanAfrican Energy Tanzania said,
‘’this is a significant milestone for our infrastructure expansion
programme and will enable us to double production capacity at Songo
Songo and support the Government’s drive to increase the capacity of
the national power grid. We are committed to ensuring that we play our
part in helping meet the needs of the Tanzanian people.”
The Sakson Rig PR5 is a modern, high-specification powerful rig that
has been initially contracted to safely and efficiently drill Well
SS-A as part of the ongoing development of Songo Songo. The
installation, erection, and commissioning of the Rig including
preparations for drilling operations and may take approximately 4
weeks. Drilling is expected to commence on or about 23 December.
About PanAfrican Energy Tanzania
PanAfrican Energy Tanzania (PAT) has for the past 10 years been the
lead private sector investor in Tanzania’s gas industry, producing up
to 102 million standard cubic feet of gas per day. Over 80% of this
gas is used for power generation in Tanzania.
A holding company under the Orca Group, PanAfrican Energy Tanzania
operates a gas processing facility on Songo Songo Island on behalf of
Songas Limited (Songas) on a no loss, no gain basis. The plant
supplies natural gas through a 25 km 12″ offshore pipeline and a 207
km 16″ onshore pipeline and is used mainly by the power sector and
industrial markets in the Dar es Salaam area.
Songo Songo was Tanzania’s first major natural gas development.
About Songo Songo West (SSW)
Songo Songo West lies approximately 2.5 kilometres west of the main
field and is mapped on seismic as having closure on an elongate
north-south oriented tilted fault block trap. As with the Songo Songo
main field, two reservoirs are envisaged to be present within the SSW
prospect – the Neocomian and the Cenomanian, although the primary
exploration potential lies within the Neocomian interval. SSW lies
entirely within the Company’s Discovery Blocks.
For more information please contact:
Yvonne Abba at PanAfrican Energy Tanzania Limited
Email: ykabba@panafricanenergy.com
Tel. + 255 (0) 22 2121938/9