Mr Brende who ended his two-day visit in Tanzania at the weekend said completion of the liquefied natural gas (LNG) project is going to improve foreign direct investment (FDIs) to the country but he noted that this would take a lot of work and great effort.

 

"Tanzania has huge opportunities in the industry especially if transparency and accountability are fully exercised but there are a lot of works needed before benefits can be felt," he said.

 

Tanzania has so far discovered 57.2 trillion cubic feet from both onshore and offshore and efforts are now advancing in developing the $30 billion LNG.

 

Mr Brende said that his country would be sharing experience with Tanzania.

 

He said in the 1970s, Norway invited companies to invest in oil and gas and now the country is the second largest exporter of offshore gas after the US.

 

He said the government should keep the public expectations at a realistic level because the oil and gas industry is challenging and costly as the gas is extracted 100km across the cost.

 

On his part, the Minister for Industry, Trade and Investment Mr Charles Mwijage said Tanzania would be glad to share experience and learn from Norway.

 

He noted that there is misconception about the industry with a section of people telling the public that any citizen can invest in oil and gas.

 

"This is leading to a lot of excitement which needs to be toned down by educating Tanzanians about the sector's full potential," he said.

 

He noted that currently investment in the sector has decreased following reduction of gas prices.

Source : http://allafrica.com