Tanzania Says 3 Mnazi Bay Wells Found Gas

TANZANIA · ENERGY · NATURAL GAS

Tanzania will announce next week how much natural gas three newly drilled wells have found in the Mnazi Bay block in Mtwara Region, on the country’s southern coast near Mozambique. Energy Minister Juma Homera told reporters in Dar es Salaam on Sunday, 18 October 2026, that the drilling by the state-owned Tanzania Petroleum Development Corporation (TPDC) and its partner, the French oil and gas producer Maurel & Prom (M&P), was completed with “great success,” according to the Ministry of Energy.

The new gas is meant for Tanzania’s own power stations and factories rather than for export. For US readers, it is a sign of how East Africa is building up domestic gas supply while the larger offshore export project, in which ExxonMobil holds a stake, is still under negotiation.

What the Minister Said

Homera said the three wells, two for development and one for exploration, found gas that is expected to add to the 57.54 trillion cubic feet of natural gas Tanzania already counts. He said the government will launch the wells and disclose the quantity at an event in the village of Msimbati, which the Tanzanian daily The Citizen reported is set for 26 and 27 October.

“Next week, we expect to launch the drilled wells and announce the quantity of gas discovered in Tanzania,” Homera said, as quoted by The Citizen. He added that more gas would support power generation, fertilizer production and other industry, and invited investors into the sector.

Homera is energy minister in the government of President Samia Suluhu Hassan, and Deogratius Ndejembi, energy minister as recently as August, is now vice-president. He said Ndejembi will attend a ceremony next week at which the government signs and hands new petroleum exploration licences to TPDC.

What the Company Has Reported

M&P, which is listed in Paris, operates the Mnazi Bay licence with a 60% working interest, according to its July 2026 report on the first half. It said the MB-5 and MS-2 development wells, drilled in the first half, tested at 47 and 50 million cubic feet a day and were brought into production.

The company said those wells lift the field’s production potential to nearly 200 million cubic feet a day, and that field output averaged about 125 million a day in the first half of July. It also said the Kasa-1X exploration well was started in mid-June, but it has not published a result for that well.

Mnazi Bay gas goes into a government-owned pipeline from Mtwara to Dar es Salaam under a 2014 sales agreement with TPDC. That deal set a starting price of US$3.00 per million British thermal units, rising in line with a US consumer price index for industrial goods, and M&P reported an average price of US$4.13 in the first half of 2026.

Tanzania’s Wider Gas Push

Homera said gas from the nearby Ntorya field should start flowing early in 2027 at about 40 million cubic feet a day. A 35-kilometre pipeline from Ntorya to the Madimba processing plant is 70% built and due to be finished in December 2026, he said.

He also said seismic surveys in the Eyasi-Wembere and Lindi-Mtwara blocks should end in December, and that 22 compressed natural gas stations for vehicles were running by September. Tanzania’s power generation capacity has reached 4,646 megawatts, against a government target of 8,000 megawatts by 2030.

What It Means for US Readers

The direct US stake is in Tanzania’s offshore gas, not in Mnazi Bay. ExxonMobil holds a 35% working interest in offshore Block 2, operated by Norway’s Equinor, and those partners are negotiating a liquefied natural gas export plant with the government and a Shell-led group.

A larger domestic gas base helps Tanzania keep its own power and industry supplied whatever happens to that export project. It also shows how prices compare: M&P’s Tanzanian gas sold above the US Henry Hub benchmark, which averaged about US$3.87 per million British thermal units over the same six months and US$2.95 in September 2026, according to the US Energy Information Administration.

What Is Not Known

The size of the find is not known until the government announces it. It is also unclear whether the figure will be reported as resources or as proven reserves, which are the volumes judged commercially recoverable.

M&P has not yet reported what the Kasa-1X exploration well found, and no independent assessment of the new volumes has been published. The government has not said how the additional gas would be priced or who would buy it.

Frequently Asked Questions

Where is the Mnazi Bay gas field?

It is in Mtwara Region on Tanzania’s southern coast, near the border with Mozambique. The government event to announce the new volumes is planned for the village of Msimbati in the same region.

Who drilled the new wells?

The state-owned Tanzania Petroleum Development Corporation drilled them with Maurel & Prom, the French company that operates the licence. Maurel & Prom holds a 60% working interest in it.

How much natural gas does Tanzania have?

The government puts the country’s natural gas resources at 57.54 trillion cubic feet. It expects the Mnazi Bay results to add to that total.

Will the gas be exported to the United States?

Not as things stand, because Mnazi Bay gas is sold within Tanzania through a pipeline to Dar es Salaam. Exports would depend on a separate liquefied natural gas project that is still under negotiation.

Sources: Tanzania Ministry of Energy, Kiasi cha gesi asilia kuongezeka nchini kufuatia ugunduzi mpya Mnazi Bay, 18 October 2026 (Swahili), Tanzania Ministry of Energy, homepage (minister and vice-president), Maurel & Prom, Activity for the first half of 2026, 21 July 2026, Maurel & Prom, Q1 2026 activity, Maurel & Prom, Gas sales agreement for Mnazi Bay and Msimbati, 15 September 2014, Equinor, Tanzania, US Energy Information Administration, Henry Hub natural gas spot price, monthly, The Citizen, Tanzania to announce new natural gas finds soon, 18 October 2026. All retrieved 19 October 2026.

Editorial responsibility: Matthias Camenzind, Editor-in-Chief · Editorial standards · Report an error