Page 18 - AfrOil Week 08 2022

AfrOil NEWS IN BRIEF AfrOil

High Court Judge Gerald Bloem issued a ruling Zanzibar’s ambitious economic recovery pro-
dismissing the application to appeal that Shell gramme, which emphasises diversification.
submitted jointly with South Africa’s Mineral Since the island’s economy has historically been
Resources and Energy Minister Gwede Man- heavily dependent on tourism, it lost one of
tashe, on February 17. His decision means that its most important revenue streams as a result
the multinational will not be able to proceed with of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic,
its seismic survey until the court hears an appli- and this loss has served as further motivation
cation filed by environmental organisations and for economic diversification. As such, Zanzi-
the Amadiba, Dwesa-Cwebe and Port St. Johns bar, a semi-autonomous region of Tanzania, is
communities to cancel Shell’s exploration per- now planning to fast-track oil and gas explora-
mit. That case is due to come before the court on tion in the hope of fostering new growth and
May 30, according to local press reports. investment.
Bloem explained his decision by saying that Mainland Tanzania has already had some
the interim order prevented Shell from going success on this front, as exploration projects have
ahead with its project until the case that led to led to the discovery of about 57 trillion cubic
the imposition of that order was resolved. Since feet (1.614 trillion cubic metres) of natural gas
the case in question is the application filed by the reserves, Mramba noted.
environmental organisations and the Amadiba, being dismissed from their jobs if they ever com- “This is the major issue that has prompted us
Dwesa-Cwebe and Port St. Johns communities, plained of poor working conditions. “Apart from to sign this co-operation agreement [with Zan-
the multinational must wait until May 30, he this, there is also the challenge of continuous zibar]. We want to share knowledge and skills
wrote. placement of workers on contract employment, as well as exchanging experiences, statistics and
Shell’s exploration permit covered a section of so you will see some of the workers going for five other areas that would enable the institutions to
South Africa’s shallow-water offshore zone that years on contracts,” he was quoted as saying by move forward faster,” he added.
is known as the Wild Coast. Its plans for using NewZimbabwe.com. “This is uncalled for, and bna/IntelliNews, February 23 2022
Shearwater GeoServices’ Amazon Warrior ves- we will definitely fight such injustices in our
sel to collect seismic data sparked many protests sector.”
from people and groups fearful that the survey The ZIPAWU union was established in 2014 PROJECTS & COMPANIES
might disturb wildlife habitats, fishing grounds and now represents workers from several retail
and wilderness areas. filling station chains, including Zuva Petroleum, Dragon Oil claims discovery
bna/IntelliNews, February 17 2022 Trek, Maps and Glow, as well as the local affiliate
of TotalEnergies. It secured an official mandate of field in Gulf of Suez with
Head of Zimbabwe’s from the Zimbabwean government in 2020 but 100mn barrels of oil
has not been able to take much action since then,
ZIPAWU union complains owing to the lockdowns that followed the advent Dubai government-owned Dragon Oil, which
of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.
about fuel retailers’ use bna/IntelliNews, February 2 2022 bought BP’s crude oil producing assets in Egypt,
has announced the largest oilfield discovery
of contract labour State energy agencies of made in the Gulf of Suez, with potential reserves
estimated at 100mn barrels.
Samuel Hova, the president of the Zimba- Tanzania and Zanzibar sign The company is working to continue its
bwe Petroleum and Allied Workers Union growth and expansion in the Egyptian market
(ZIPAWU), has complained that too many of the co-operation agreement in 2022 through intensifying the exploration,
country’s fuel sellers have hired contract work- development of fields and reparation of wells
ers rather than salaried employees to meet their Multiple government agencies and state-run to expand the production from its Gulf of Suez
staffing needs. companies from Zanzibar and Tanzania have oilfields. “The company aims to reach produc-
In an interview with NewZimbabwe.com signed an agreement on co-operation in research tion rates of 65,000-70,000 barrels per day [bpd],
on February 21, Hova asserted that this staffing and experience-sharing on the oil and gas sector compared to an average of 60,000 [bpd] in 2021,
strategy benefitted employers without helping in a bid to foster development and diversify the as its financial solvency allows for further expan-
employees. Fuel companies typically hire con- economy, Felchesmi Mramba, the permanent sion and exploration in several regions,” Ali
tract labour because they want to spend less on secretary in mainland Tanzania’s Ministry of Rashid Al Jarwan, CEO of Dragon Oil report-
wages and work through brokerages that charge Energy, was quoted as saying by Tanzania Daily edly said.
fees for their placement services, he said. Those News on February 22. In line with the Egyptian government’s plans
fees come out of the workers’ take-home pay, he The agencies signing the agreement included to optimise oil sector revenues, Dragon Oil is
claimed. mainland Tanzania’s Energy and Water Utility reportedly in discussions with Egyptian General
“Most companies in our sector have Regulatory Authority (EWURA), the Petro- Petroleum Corp. (EGPC) to on joint exploitation
resorted to using workers availed through the leum Upstream Regulatory Authority (PURA) of the Al Wasl field in Dubai, which requires
labour-broking companies. The main challenge and Tanzania Petroleum Development Corp. additional new investments in production facil-
is that the practice is bleeding workers because (TPDC), as well as Zanzibar Petroleum Reg- ities, infrastructure and drilling. Al Wasl would
they have to share the spoils of their sweat with ulatory Authority (ZPRA), Zanzibar Utilities be added to the portfolio of Gulf of Suez Petro-
these companies,” he said. Regulatory Authority (ZURA) and Zanzibar leum Co. (GUPCO), with expectations that its
He also contended that contract workers Petroleum Development Corp. (ZPDC). production would increase by 20% upon the
were not being allowed to join unions and were The agreement is designed to support implementation of development plans.

P18 www. NEWSBASE .com Week 08 23•February•2022