KEY POINTS
- Tanzania and Pan African Energy Tanzania have together drilled 12 Songo Songo gas wells.
- Songo Songo block currently produces an average of 84.7 million cubic feet of gas daily.
- Tanzania is negotiating a licence extension with PAET before the October 2026 expiry date.
Tanzania has drilled 12 wells at the Songo Songo natural gas block, Deputy Minister for Energy Salome Makamba confirmed Monday, breaking down the work between two operators as the country presses to secure its gas future beyond this year.
Makamba gave the figure May 12 in Dodoma while fielding a parliamentary question from Kilwa South MP Hasnain Gulamabbas Dewji, who had asked for clarity on total wells drilled at the offshore block. The Tanzania Petroleum Development Corporation drilled nine of those wells. Pan African Energy Tanzania, the private operator known as PAET, drilled the remaining three.
Output levels and the licence clock
The Songo Songo block is currently producing an average of 84.7 million cubic feet of natural gas per day, Makamba said, a figure she tied directly to current demand levels rather than maximum capacity.
The block has long been a cornerstone of Tanzania’s domestic gas supply, feeding power plants and industrial consumers on the mainland through the Songo Songo-Dar es Salaam pipeline. Output from the field has shaped the country’s energy economics for years, and any disruption to its operations would carry real consequences for electricity generation and industrial activity.
Licence talks underway as October deadline nears
The current natural gas development licence governing production at Songo Songo is due to expire in October 2026. A government negotiation team is in active talks with PAET over a possible extension that would allow continued operations at the block.
Makamba did not disclose terms being discussed or offer a timeline for when negotiations are expected to conclude. The government has a clear interest in continuity at the block given its role in meeting national gas demand. PAET, a subsidiary of Pan African Energy, has operated at Songo Songo for years and holds commercial stakes in the block’s ongoing production.
Tanzania has been working to expand its gas sector, with additional offshore discoveries and infrastructure investments forming part of a broader national energy strategy. The outcome of the PAET licence talks is expected to shape near-term gas supply stability across the country.
