Oil, Gas Negotiation Team Launched

[nngu007]

Tanzania Daily News (Dar es Salaam)


6 MAY 2015
Tanzania:


By Masembe Tambwe
TANZANIA is set to tap the best deals for the socio-economic benefit to its people as the government on Tuesday launched a team of negotiators who would represent the country in discussing all natural gas and oil contracts with International Oil Companies (IOCs).

According to a statement issued by Institute of African Leadership Sustainable Development, the negotiation team consists of 25 carefully-picked experts from different backgrounds to ensure that all the relevant issues for building a sustainable oil and gas economy are addressed.


The experts come from the Ministry of Mining, Energy and Minerals, Ministry of Finance, Ministry of Labour, The Attorney General's Chambers, Tanzania Electric Supply Company (TANESCO), Tanzania Petroleum Development Corporation (TPDC) Planning Commission and State Mining Corporation (STAMICO).

Others are from the Prime Minister's Office, Bank of Tanzania (BoT), Tanzania Revenue Authority (TRA), Ministry of Industries and Trade, University of Dar es Salaam and National Environment Council (NEMC).




Officiating the team of negotiators along with the capacity building programme for 'the Government Team of Negotiators for Natural Gas and Oil' organized by the Institute of African Leadership for Sustainable Development (UONGOZI Institute) Zanzibar, the Chief Secretary, Ambassador Ombeni Sefue, said that the programme will help equip the negotiators to negotiate well and successfully.

"It is my hope that this programme will help to equip participants with the requisite skills and tact to be good negotiators for the benefit of our nation, not only now but for generations to come," he said.

Ambassador Sefue advised the newly-launched negotiation team to dedicate itself to learning, understanding, strategically thinking, managing, researching, exploring and more importantly, negotiating well on behalf of us all; for Tanzania's best interests now and in the future.

"Negotiating oil and natural gas agreements with International Oil Companies (IOCs) is a challenge which governments of natural resource-rich countries from Africa must address," he added.

The IOCs can afford to bring with them the best technical, fiscal and legal capacities in the world, backed by wide and lengthy experiences in the field.

So the first challenge we face is one of negotiating power asymmetry between the highly under-sourced African governments and the highly-resourced IOCs."



He said that the already discovered natural gas reserves of over 50 trillion cubic feet can and should provide sufficient impetus to turn this country's economy into a diversified, sustainable and fully transformed middle income economy in the near future.




He said that for this to happen, however, we need to internalize global best practices, avoid the mistakes that others in a similar position have made and we must negotiate good deals.

Ambassador Sefue also emphasized on the importance for the team to review and understand the government's efforts, past and present, to develop the necessary institutional framework for the good management of the oil and gas sub-sector.

"For instance, a lot has been done in the development of policies, strategies and legislation; and all these have to be understood and factored into the training programme and negotiations," he said, adding: "Ideally, our negotiators need to prepare for a highly skilful bargaining exercise aimed at striking a mutually acceptable balance between the interests of the Government on the one hand, and the interests of the IOCs on the other."

According to the chief secretary, the bright future the country aspires to must be planned, adding that unless the right strategic decisions are made and implemented in the early stages, the risk is real that the exploitation of the extractive resources can easily lead to economic and social imbalances and result into the well-known natural resource curse.

"We must avoid the resource curse or "resource trap" into which some countries have fallen into. The government is determined that the available natural gas reserves must support the socio-economic transformation of this country into middle income status with sustained high and broad-based growth and human development as enshrined in the Tanzania Development Vision 2025," he said.




Ambassador Sefue also thanked the Institute of African Leadership for Sustainable Development (UONGOZI Institute) for the management and oversight of the capacity building programme for the Government Team of Negotiators.

He also commended the Columbia University (Centre for Sustainable Investment) and the International Senior Lawyers Project for collaborating with UONGOZI Institute to develop and deliver the programme.

"Together you have been able to develop a practical, targeted and impressive programme within the given timeframe. You have also assembled a strong team of experts and resource persons in negotiations, natural gas and the oil industry from Africa, Europe and USA to deliver it," he observed.

"This should bring to Tanzania a wealth of experience from other continents and hence enrich the learning that will take place here," he remarked.

 

[DATANTA]

Upumbavu mwingine wa kupiga hela, kila kitu tume, tumechoka

 

[politiki]

Tanzania must adopt the local content policy to build up the capacity and competency. This policy would
give special consideration locals instead of the way things are today.

 

[aminiusiamini]

Tanzania must adopt the local content policy to build up the capacity and competency. This policy would
give special consideration locals instead of the way things are today.

Am not sure if you are fully aware of those terms you mentioned above.Competency and capacity.

 

[Pascal Mayalla]

Mkuu ngu007, thanks for this useful thread, tukifanikiwa kuwajua who is who kwenye hiyo team tutashukuru, mimi nitaanza kwa kuwataka kwanza wapitie uzi huu na kuja kutumia kwa vile Tanzania bado hatuna sera ya gesi wala sheria ya gesi, serikali yetu imekimbilia kuingia kwenye mikataba ya PSA ambayo sasa tayari ipo 26!, bila uwepo wa sera wala sheria, hawa negotiators wata negotiate nini, kupitia sera ipi kwa sheria ipi, ili kuzinadili hizi PSA Watanzania tufaidike?!.

Kumbukeni sheria hazifanyi kazi kwa utaratibu wa restrorespective, yaani mikataba iliokwisha ingiwa itaheshimiwa na vitalu vyote tutakuwa tumeisha vigawa kwanza na hizo PSA (Production Sharing Agreements) zake, kisha ndio tuje tutunge sera then tututenge sheria ikifuatiwa na kanuni!. Why are wee putting the cart before the horse?!.

Bahati mbaya threads kama hizi huwa hazichangiwi sana humu jf. Niliwahi kuuliza hivi kule nyumba hadi leo sijawahi kujibiwa with absense of law, why all this rush!, sasa tumeunda the negotiantion team, msingi mkuu wa any negotiations ni sheria, sasa hawa negotiators, wata negotiate nini na kwa sheria ipi?.

Nikiwajua ningewashauri hizo negotiatins za bila uwepo wa sheria, zianzie hapa
[h=3]Gesi asili: Isn't it a "day light robbery?!"- Watanzania tunaibiwa Mchana Kweupe!.
[/h][h=3]A "20 -Years Grace Period" ya Mkopo wa Exim Bank Kujenga Bomba la Gesi ni Kiini Macho?.
[/h]Pasco

 

[Sophist]

Mining negotiation parallel team; another bogus fix

 

[DSN]

Tanzania Daily News (Dar es Salaam)

"Ideally, our negotiators need to prepare for a highly skilful bargaining exercise aimed at striking a mutually acceptable balance between the interests of the Government on the one hand, and the interests of the IOCs on the other."

Very keen consideration and well adviced, and why not remind them the interest of our People [Tanzanians],Manake naona interest za Government and IOCs and Icant see ana advice interest za Umma [Public].