Tanzania’s Energy Ministry says that talks with foreign operators on the development of its planned LNG facility should conclude in September.
Talks are expected to begin early next month.
Construction of an LNG export terminal near huge offshore natural gas discoveries in Tanzania’s deepwater arena have been delayed by regulatory issues for a few years.
“The government has officially decided to begin talks in early April for construction of the LNG project,” Tanzania’s energy ministry said in a statement.
“We are keen to implement this key project for the economy and we plan to … conclude the talks in September this year.”
The talks are aimed at negotiating a host government agreement, which is seen as a crucial step towards reaching a FID for the project.
The decision to push talks forward was reached following a meeting on March 22 between the African country’s energy minister, Medard Kalemani, and Mette Ottøy, a senior VP at Equinor.
Equinor, alongside Royal Dutch Shell, Exxon Mobil and Ophir Energy, plan to build a $30 billion onshore LNG plant.