TANZANIA · ENERGY
Key Facts
- The country Tanzania is an East African country on the Indian Ocean, led by President Samia Suluhu Hassan, building up its own gas supply.
- What happened Energy Minister Juma Zuberi Homera announced a Tanzania gas find of 223 billion cubic feet in Mtwara Region on Tuesday 27 October 2026.
- The well The Kasa-1X ST2 exploration well, drilled by state oil company TPDC with France’s Maurel & Prom.
- The size 223 billion cubic feet is about 0.4 percent of the 57.54 trillion cubic feet of gas that the ministry says Tanzania already counts.
- The partner Paris-listed Maurel & Prom, which holds 60 percent of the licence, put the find at about 200 billion cubic feet gross on 22 October.
- The output The minister expects about 30 million cubic feet a day for 10 years or more; Maurel & Prom says up to 50 million from November.
- Still open Whether the volume is recoverable gas, why the partner’s own estimate is about 200 billion cubic feet, and what price the gas will fetch.
The Tanzania gas find totals 223 billion cubic feet in the southern Mtwara Region, Energy Minister Juma Zuberi Homera announced on Tuesday 27 October 2026. It is the country’s first new gas discovery since 2015, according to Jamhuri Media and The Citizen.
For US readers, the Tanzania gas find adds home supply for power plants. A separate US$42 billion export project, with ExxonMobil as a partner, still awaits a final deal.
What the Energy Minister Announced in Mtwara
Homera announced the find on Tuesday 27 October 2026, with the ministry’s top oil and gas official present, Jamhuri Media reported in Swahili. He said the gas lies in the Mnazi Bay Block, on the coast of Mtwara Region near Mozambique.
The Ministry of Energy had said a day earlier that Homera would travel to Mtwara to announce a large gas discovery. That Swahili statement came from Dr James Mataragio, its oil and gas permanent secretary, who added that TPDC would receive its licences on 28 October.
The Kasa-1X Well and Its Partners
The gas came from the Kasa well, named Kasa-1X ST2 by The Citizen, drilled by the Tanzania Petroleum Development Corporation (TPDC) with Maurel & Prom. TPDC is the state oil company, and Paris-listed Maurel & Prom operates the Mnazi Bay licence.
The government raised its stake in the block through TPDC from 20 percent to 40 percent in 2024, Homera said. He said the well is expected to produce about 30 million cubic feet a day for at least 10 years.
Where the Gas Would Go
More than 80 percent of the gas from the block already feeds power stations of the state utility Tanesco in Mtwara and Dar es Salaam. Homera said two other wells, MB-5 and MS-2, lifted output by more than 65 million cubic feet a day.
The minister said more gas could cut energy imports and supply raw material for plastics and fertiliser. TPDC is also talking to four investors about small liquefied natural gas projects, three of them in Mtwara.
How Big Is 223 Billion Cubic Feet?
The new find equals 0.223 trillion cubic feet. That is under 0.4 percent of the 57.54 trillion cubic feet that the ministry listed on 18 October, as the Rio Times reported.
Homera said the Tanzania gas find should strengthen energy security and draw more local and foreign investment. He added that it should raise state income through profit gas, TPDC earnings and taxes.
What the Partner Company Says
In its report of 22 October, Maurel & Prom said the Kasa-1X well, drilled from land to a target 4.5 kilometres offshore, found a gas reservoir. It put the volumes at about 200 billion cubic feet gross, or 120 billion on its own share.
The company said first production could start as early as November 2026 at up to 50 million cubic feet a day gross. It also said Mnazi Bay now produces about 130 million cubic feet a day, helped by the MB-5 and MS-2 wells.
Jobs and Local Contracts
About 200 Tanzanians have found jobs through local companies working on the project, Homera said. Thirty-five contracts worth more than 20 billion Tanzanian shillings (about US$7.6 million at 2,638 shillings per US dollar on 28 October) went to local firms.
Tanzanians make up 95 percent of gas staff, he said, and the Madimba gas processing plant is run entirely by Tanzanians. The Citizen added that TPDC and Maurel & Prom have also funded schools, health care and student scholarships around Mtwara.
The LNG Export Talks Still Running
On Monday 26 October, Mataragio said talks on a liquefied natural gas (LNG) export plant in Lindi Region had advanced on trade and tax terms. A special law for the project, still to be settled in talks in Arusha, would go to Parliament and run for 50 years.
That export plant is a separate project, which the Rio Times covered when Tanzania missed its own signing deadline. The Mnazi Bay gas serves the home market, as the Rio Times report of 19 October explained.
What It Means for US Readers
Mnazi Bay gas is sold inside Tanzania, so the find adds no cargoes bound for the United States. American interest sits in the offshore export project, where ExxonMobil is a partner, as the Rio Times reported on 23 October.
A bigger home supply could keep power and factory costs in check, which helps US firms that sell equipment or services there. Homera invited more domestic and foreign investors to build on the Tanzania gas find.
What Is Not Known
The government has not said whether the 223 billion cubic feet is gas in place or the share that can be recovered and sold. Maurel & Prom’s own estimate of about 200 billion cubic feet gross is lower, and neither side has explained the gap.
No price or buyer for the new gas has been given, and Homera did not name a start date. It is also open how the find will change Tanzania’s total gas count of 57.54 trillion cubic feet.
More: Tanzania news in English, every day from The Rio Times.
Frequently Asked Questions
How big is the Tanzania gas find in Mtwara?
The Tanzania gas find is 223 billion cubic feet in the Mnazi Bay Block, announced on Tuesday 27 October 2026. The Citizen called it the first reported new gas find in more than a decade.
Who made the Tanzania gas find?
The state oil company TPDC drilled the Kasa-1X ST2 well with the French producer Maurel & Prom. Energy Minister Juma Zuberi Homera announced the result.
Where is the Mnazi Bay Block?
It is in Mtwara Region on Tanzania’s southern coast, close to the border with Mozambique. Its gas already feeds power stations in Mtwara and Dar es Salaam.
How much gas will the new well produce?
The minister said the Kasa well should produce about 30 million cubic feet a day for at least 10 years. Maurel & Prom said first production could come as early as November 2026.
Will this gas be exported to the United States?
Not as things stand, because Mnazi Bay gas is sold inside Tanzania. Exports depend on a separate LNG project that is still under negotiation.
Sources: Jamhuri Media, Historia yaandikwa Mnazi Bay, Waziri Homera atangaza ugunduzi gesi asilia wa futi za ujazo bilioni 223, 27 October 2026; The Citizen, Tanzania discovers 223 billion cubic feet of natural gas in Mtwara, 27 October 2026; Maurel & Prom, Activity for the first nine months of 2026, 22 October 2026; Wizara ya Nishati, Dkt. Mataragio: Serikali yakamilisha hatua muhimu kuelekea kuanza kwa mradi wa LNG, 26 October 2026; Wizara ya Nishati, Kiasi cha gesi asilia kuongezeka nchini kufuatia ugunduzi mpya Mnazi Bay, 18 October 2026.
This article was produced by The Rio Times’ automated newsroom system. How we use AI · Report an error · Editorial responsibility: Matthias Camenzind, Editor-in-Chief