Kibaha — COAST REGION: TANZANIAN firm--Dodsal Hydrocarbon (T) Limited is about to start a gas drilling project at its Ruvu block, in Kibaha District, Coast Region with an upside potential of over five (5) trillion cubic feet.
The company, which is a subsidiary of Dodsal Group--a 75-year-old conglomerate, will be implementing the project in collaboration with the Tanzania Petroleum Development Corporation (TPDC). Dr Rajen Kilachand, Chairman and owner of the Ruvu block told the 'Daily News' in an exclusive interview on Wednesday that all processes to commence the project have already been completed.
"We are only waiting for a licence from the Ministry of Energy to proceed with tender announcement and commence operations," he said.
He went on to say that the company has so far invested over 200 million US dollars (about 501bn/-) for the preparations of the project and that they are expecting to use more money when the project starts.
"Our firm discovered a potential lean gas of 3.1 to 3.9 trillion cubic feet over an area of 4,000 square kilometres in the Ruvu block. Lean is gas high in methane content (typically 95 per cent or more) and with few higher fractions. Exploration work was done by BGP from China and processed by Rose and Associates from Houston, United States of America," he explained.
The company's activities started back in 2007; whereby research was conducted by a local company--Africa Geophysical Services (AGS). According to Dr Kilachand, over 150 people have so far benefited from research and exploration activities.
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"We will announce a tender for drilling as soon as the ministry grants us the licence. Our operations will benefit hundreds of people within the Coast Region. This project is going to provide jobs to more than 100 people," he stated.
A number of projects will be implemented under the company's Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) policy including water wells, roads as well as dispensaries. Apart from exploration and production of oil and gas, the company also engages in gold mining activities in Itigi area, Singida Region.
The gold mine in Itigi has been assessed as having a potential of about 100,000 ounces, with production activities expected to start before the end of year 2023. In the engineering, procurement and construction in the energy sector, the firm has in the past 10 years conducted various activities including pioneering a carbon capture technology project for the first solar power station in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), which included design, engineering, installation and commissioning for Masdar in Abu Dhabi.
Apart from that, the company has also constructed 40 nuclear, thermal and gas power stations, five Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) plants, 23,000 kilometres of cross-country pipelines for liquids and minerals such as iron ore, 100 kilometres of four-line highways, 80 kilometres of 75 metres wide cross country irrigation canals and waterways
