Speculative 2-D Deep Sea Seismic Surveys

TPDC and WESTERN GEOPHYSICAL COMPANY (WGC) of the United Kingdom undertook the aquisition of more than 11,000 line kilometers of geophysical data on speculative basis in the years 1999/2000. The data was acquired in the deep waters of Tanzania in depths ranging from 300 meters to 3,500 meters. The project was undertaken in two phases and involved the acquisition of seismic, gravity and magnetic data and processing of the same.

Phase one was carried out in 1999 which 6700 km of geophysical data was acquired, between the Mozambique/Tanzania border and the parallel through Dar-es-salaam. The data was processed in 1999, and an interpretation done during the first half of the year 2000. Following the co-evaluation, the Government permitted TPDC and Western Geophysical to undertake a promotion of the areas through a licensing round. Two seminars were held in Houston (14th September 2000) and London (19th September 2000) During which the Minister for Energy and Minerals officially launched the first Tanzania Deep-sea Licensing Round for the Mafia South offshore Basin. The round closes on 19th April 2001. Six areas have been demarcated for the area.

The data package include the new geophysical data, a geochemical report, a well data package, and an evaluation report ( option).

Phase two of the project was executed in the year 2000. Data from 4340 line km have been acquired in the areas opposite Dar es salaam, Zanzibar and Pemba Islands up to the Kenya/Tanzania border. The data is now being processed, and will be interpreted in the year 2001 and the licensing of the area will be carried out later.

The Licencing of the DeepSea and the exploration to that will make Tanzania the most active country in oil exploration in this part of the World. The current activities, including operations of license operators, are detailed in the 1999 Annual Report for the Exploration, Production and Technical Services appearing as a last page on this window.

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