London-Listed Aminex Threatens Arbitration Over Tanzanian Gas
TANZANIA · ENERGY
Key Facts
—The dispute: Ndovu Resources, a subsidiary of London-listed Aminex, issued a notice of dispute on 21 August against operator ARA Petroleum Tanzania and its Omani parent, The Zubair Corporation. It alleges breaches of the farmout and joint operating agreements over the approved 2026 work programme and budget.
—The well: The complaint centres on CH-1, or Chikumbi-1, the obligation well under the farmout agreement and the development licence. Ndovu says the operator has proposed successive alternative programmes that materially delay it.
—The clock: The notice starts a 90-day window for amicable resolution, which runs to about 19 November. After that Ndovu may refer the matter to the London Court of International Arbitration and pursue The Zubair Corporation as parent guarantor.
—The meeting: Energy Ministry Permanent Secretary Dr James Mataragio met the partners, together with state company TPDC and the regulator PURA, on 26 August. The ministry pressed for first gas by December 2026.
—The field: Ntorya is onshore in the Ruvuma basin, about 30 kilometres from the coast in Mtwara. TPDC estimates it holds around 1.6 trillion cubic feet of gas.
—The ownership: ARA Petroleum Tanzania holds 75 percent and operates; Ndovu holds 25 percent. TPDC is in talks to acquire a 15 percent interest.
—The pipeline: TPDC signed a TSh120 billion (about US$46 million) contract in July 2025 with two Chinese state contractors for a 14-inch pipeline from Ntorya to Madimba in Mtwara.
Tanzania Ntorya gas development is now the subject of a formal dispute notice from its minority partner against the operator, filed on 21 August, three months before the government expects first production. The complaint is that the obligation well has not been drilled.
What the Tanzania Ntorya gas dispute is about
Ndovu Resources, a subsidiary of Aminex, a Dublin-based explorer listed on London’s AIM market, issued a notice of dispute on 21 August 2026. It alleges that ARA Petroleum Tanzania, the operator, breached both the farmout agreement and the joint operating agreement that govern the field.
A farmout agreement is the contract under which one partner earns a stake in a licence by committing to fund work, in this case drilling. The joint operating agreement sets how the partners run the project day to day.
The subject is the approved 2026 work programme and budget. Ndovu says the operator has sought to replace it with successive alternative programmes which, in the company’s words, “materially delay the drilling of CH-1” and were never approved by the joint venture, TPDC or the regulator.
CH-1, or Chikumbi-1, is the obligation well under the farmout agreement and the development licence. In an upstream partnership, failing to drill an obligation well is among the most serious allegations a minority partner can make.
The procedure now running
The notice opens a 90-day period for amicable resolution. Counting from 21 August, that runs to roughly 19 November 2026.
If the parties do not settle within it, Ndovu may refer the dispute to the London Court of International Arbitration, a private tribunal commonly written into cross-border energy contracts. It may also pursue its rights against The Zubair Corporation, the operator’s Omani parent, which guaranteed its obligations under the 2018 farmout.
The timing is awkward for everyone. The resolution window closes weeks before the December date the government is still working to.
The government is pressing ahead regardless
Dr James Mataragio, permanent secretary at the Ministry of Energy, met the partners on 26 August together with the state company TPDC and the regulator PURA. The ministry called for procedures to be streamlined to meet the December 2026 first-gas deadline.
According to the ministry, the operator’s chief executive Dr Salman Al Shidi pledged to move swiftly towards that date. That is the ministry’s account of what was said rather than a statement from the company.
So the state is publicly projecting first gas in December while the minority partner has formally alleged the operator will not commit to drilling. Those two positions are difficult to hold at once.
The original target was September 2026. It has already moved once.
The asset, and who owns it
Ntorya sits onshore in the Ruvuma basin, about 30 kilometres from the coast in the Mtwara region, inside a block of roughly 756 square kilometres. TPDC estimates it holds around 1.6 trillion cubic feet of gas, enough to matter for a country whose older fields are declining.
ARA Petroleum Tanzania, backed by Oman’s Zubair Corporation, holds 75 percent and operates. Ndovu holds 25 percent, and TPDC is in talks to acquire a 15 percent stake.
The evacuation route is already contracted. TPDC signed an agreement in July 2025 with China Petroleum Pipeline Engineering and China Petroleum Technology and Development Corporation for a 14-inch line from Ntorya to the Madimba processing plant in Mtwara.
TPDC values that contract at TSh120 billion (about US$46 million). The conversion is at roughly TSh2,600 to the US dollar, the late-August market rate.
Why this is worth an outside reader’s time
One modest onshore gas field has an Omani-backed operator, a London-listed minority partner threatening arbitration, Chinese state contractors laying the pipeline and a Tanzanian state company negotiating its way onto the licence. That is the shape of frontier energy now.
It is also a test of how Tanzania handles a partner dispute at the moment it is trying to attract more upstream capital. Arbitration is expensive reputationally even when a government is not a party.
The primary document is the regulatory announcement filed by Aminex rather than any summary of it. Anyone with exposure should read that before drawing conclusions about the strength of either side.
This is company and policy reporting rather than investment advice, and the dispute is unresolved. The positions described here are allegations, not findings.
Frequently asked questions
What has Ndovu Resources alleged?
It issued a notice of dispute on 21 August alleging that operator ARA Petroleum Tanzania breached the farmout and joint operating agreements over the approved 2026 work programme and budget. The complaint centres on delay to the CH-1 obligation well.
What happens next?
The notice opens a 90-day window for amicable resolution, running to about 19 November 2026. If that fails, Ndovu may refer the dispute to the London Court of International Arbitration and pursue parent company The Zubair Corporation.
Is the December first-gas target still in place?
The Energy Ministry pressed the partners on 26 August to meet a December 2026 deadline. The original target had been September 2026.
Who owns the Ntorya field?
ARA Petroleum Tanzania holds 75 percent and operates, with Ndovu Resources, a subsidiary of London-listed Aminex, holding 25 percent. TPDC is in talks to acquire a 15 percent interest.
Connected Coverage
Tanzania is building out its resource logistics on several fronts, from the rail corridor it is sharing with Congo to the gas economics next door in Mozambique spending a third of its gas money. The wider contest is in Africa: The New Scramble, with more on our Eastern Africa hub.
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