A group of daring local business operators have taken on the
mantle to lead in the promotion of the local content in the oil and gas
industry through promotion of job and business opportunities for nationals and
local businesses in the sector.
They teamed up to form an Association of Tanzania Oil and
Gas Service Providers (ATOGS) that will lobby for and promote the participation
of indig enous Tanzanian individuals and bodies corporate in the provision of
services to the highly lucrative oil and gas sector.
The association that was launched by the Vice-President, Ms
Samia Suluhu Hassan in Dar es Salaam last Friday, represents a group of
accomplished professionals and business entities seeking to provide services to
the sector whose prospects have been boosted by the impending gas boom and
planned construction of 1,443 kilometres oil pipeline from Hoima Uganda to
Tanga port.
With potential natural gas reserves of 57.25 trillion cubic
feet, Tanzania is expected to become a major gas exporter to the lucrative
Asian markets in the near future.
Preparations for construction a 30 billion US dollars
onshore LNG export terminal in Lindi Region are currently under way where the
government will team up with major investors in the industry-BG Group, which
has been acquired by Royal Dutch Shell, Statoil, Exxon Mobil and Ophir Energy
for the terminal.
The government also developed a local content policy for the
oil and gas sector which seeks to ensure the resources generate further
benefits to the economy through linkage to other sectors.
The main objective of the policy is to provide guiding
principles for maximum engagement of local content and local participation in
development of the oil and gas industry to ensure optimal benefits to
Tanzanians.
Speaking at the inauguration ceremony, the Vice-President
said the association came at the most opportune time where prospects of
construction of an oil pipeline from Uganda to Tanga port had increased prospects
of the oil and gas industry.
She promised government cooperation to support the
initiative and urged other companies and individuals with potential to provide
services in the sector to join the association and take advantage of unfolding
opportunities in the sector to promote the local content.
She called on the members of the business community to
support government’s efforts to improve business environment in Tanzania by not
concealing problems of red tapes and corruption adding addressing address
problems that make doing business in Tanzania more difficult required joint
efforts.
“You should tell us when you encounter problems of
red-tapes. You should tell us also when you face corruption. We are working
hard to weed them out,” said Ms Hassan.
They called on them to promote ethics and integrity in
business practices as a way of building trust of customers, employees and the
general public.
The Chairman of the association, Ambassador Ombeni Sefue,
who is former Chief Secretary, said the initiative came at the most opportune
time when the government and the business communities are thinking on how best
Tanzanians would benefit from gas resources.
The Vice- Chairman of the association, Abdulsamad Abdulrahim
said the idea behind the formation of the association came from a visit to
Uganda where the founder of the association met Uganda’s President, Yoweri
Museveni and officials from a similar set up in Uganda.
He said they were excited to learn how service providers in
Uganda were well organised and the manner in which they were benefitting from
the opportunities in the sector.
He said ATOGS would encourage Tanzanians to seek to provide
services in the lucrative sector and seek capital from the banking sector and
other sources to make sure they benefit from local natural resources.
“ATOGS will encourage Tanzania to bid for service provision
in the industry. It will encourage them to access capital from various sources.
It will empower Tanzanians with technical knowhow to enable them get trade and
employment opportunities from the sector,” he said.
The Association of Tanzania Oil and Gas Service Providers
(ATOGS) represents a group of accomplished professionals and capable business
entities aiming to provide a range of services that include, but are not limited
to, ancillary, legal, research, and technical services for the fast growing
Tanzanian oil and gas industry.
It will be of benefit to about 100 companies and businesses
including in the banking sector, farming, insurance, transporting, clearing,
warehousing, catering, food production, construction and law firms.
Article source: Daily News TZ
Image source: Corporate Digest