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Following the death in March of president John Pombe Magufuli it has been widely questioned whether his successor would accelerate moves to encourage international investment. There is growing industry optimism that there is substance in President Samia Suluhu Hassan’s call for the Ministry of Energy to speed up Royal Dutch Shell and the Equinor/ExxonMobil group’s long-planned deep offshore development.

President Samia Suluhu Hassan’s unexpected leadership in Tanzania has given rise to optimism about prospective big projects involving international investors and regional partners. Her first, widely-observed foreign visit, on 11 April, was to the signing in Entebbe of the East African Crude Oil Pipeline (Eacop)’s shareholders, tariff and transportation agreements, with Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni also present.

London-listed Helium One has completed its extended 200km infill 2D seismic campaign and identified new priority drill-ready targets ahead of an exploration drilling programme at its 100%-owned Rukwa project.

Tanzania Petroleum Development Corporation (TPDC) managing director James Mataragio has told African Energy that talks on a host government agreement for the estimated $30bn Tanzania liquified natural gas (LNG) project being spearheaded by Equinor and Shell will resume this month.

Tanzania Petroleum Development Corporation (TPDC) appears to have decided to retain its 15% stake in the East African Crude Oil Pipeline (Eacop) and not to exercise an option to reduce its holding to 5% in the project, which is expected to come to the international market for debt finance later this year

The World Bank Group (WBG) has released details of its proposed $152m Zanzibar Energy Sector Transformation Project, which will provide finance for a battery system and solar PV plant, grid modernisation and electrification, as well as institutional strengthening. The WBG’s International Development Association is assessing a $127m credit for the project, with the remaining $25m provided by the Clean Technology Fund.

In the short period since the death of Tanzania’s divisive President John Magufuli in March there have been hints that his successor Samia Suluhu Hassan and the ruling Chama Cha Mapinduzi (CCM) party will seek to move away from Magufuli’s combative approach to private investment. Hassan has spoken about the need to encourage private investment to broaden the tax base and to move forward with long-delayed energy projects, while new foreign minister Liberata Mulamula, a career diplomat, has been making overtures to business.

Upepo Energy and other companies have expressed optimism that there will be positive shifts in official attitudes to investment, according to African Energy’s soundings. Chief development officer Dean Baumgardner said  Upepo Energy – active in Tanzania since 2014 – was waiting on projects which were selected as preferred bidders in last year’s a renewable energy auction.

The partners of the Lake Albert development project have concluded a shareholders’ agreement for the East African Crude Oil Pipeline (Eacop) and a tariff and transportation agreement. An 11 April signing ceremony in Entebbe was attended by Uganda’s President Yoweri Museveni and his Tanzanian counterpart Samia Suluhu Hassan.

The publication of a National Audit Office (NAO) report critical of the Nyerere Dam project could allow President  Samia Suluhu Hassan to challenge her late predecessor John Magufuli’s legacy. While the NAO’s 2018-19 Annual General Report on Development Projects, published in April 2020, neglected to mention the $2.9bn hydropower project in Unesco World Heritage Site the Selous Game Reserve, the 2019-20 edition includes 29 unflattering pages on Magufuli’s flagship project.

 Tanzania Geothermal Development Company (TGDC) hopes to start drilling wells to extract steam for a geothermal project at Lake Ngozi in Mbeya region this year. TGDC general manager Kato Kabaka said the government has allocated Tsh20bn (over $8.5m) to finance the initial stage of the project.

Tanzania’s newly installed President Samia Suluhu Hassan has pledged to complete the big projects initiated by her predecessor John Pombe Magufuli, who died on 17 March, officially of heart failure. Speaking at Magufuli’s state funeral in the capital Dodoma on 22 March, she said the late president’s legacy of opposing corruption and introducing strict discipline in public office would continue. “Make no mistake that my government will continue from where the late Magufuli left, there is no going back,” she said.

Total has defended itself against criticism of the East African Crude Oil Pipeline (EACOP) project, publishing its social and environmental studies and action plans and pledging transparency. In the latest attack on the project, 263 organisations from 49 countries have banded together to campaign against the planned export pipeline to carry Uganda’s crude oil to the Tanzanian coast.

President John Magufuli has warned foreign contractors against using the Covid-19 pandemic as an excuse to delay completion of major projects. Speaking at the inauguration of a World Bank-financed road interchange in Dar es Salaam on 23 February, he commended the Chinese contractor for completing the project on time.

Equinor has written down the book value of its Tanzania LNG project by $982m, amid questions over future global LNG demand and continued concerns about Tanzania’s business environment. Equinor’s partner ExxonMobil has been seeking a buyer for its stake for some time. Equinor said that, while progress had been made in recent years on the commercial framework, overall project economics had not yet improved sufficiently to justify keeping it on the balance sheet at its previous value.