Tanzania’s state-owned oil and gas company posted a net profit of about TZS73 billion in the 2025/26 financial year and remitted TZS207 billion to the government, as it steps up investment in natural gas production, regional energy infrastructure and the long-delayed $42 billion LNG project.
The Tanzania Petroleum Development Corporation (TPDC) paid TZS50 billion in taxes, TZS142 billion in government revenue shares and royalties from natural gas sales, and a TZS15 billion dividend, Managing Director Mussa Makame said on Monday.
The figures highlight TPDC’s growing role beyond managing petroleum resources, with the corporation increasingly being used to finance exploration and infrastructure from its own revenues while supporting government energy-security objectives.
Speaking to journalists in Dodoma on September 21, Mr Makame said TPDC was funding exploration activities at Mnazi Bay, Ntorya, Lindi and the EAS Wembele block from internally generated revenues.
The strategy reduces reliance on external financing for exploration but also places greater pressure on the corporation to maintain cash generation as it expands capital-intensive projects.
The East African Crude Oil Pipeline (EACOP) has reached 92.7 percent completion, with line filling scheduled to begin in December, Mr Makame said.
The first crude export vessel is expected to leave the Chongoleani marine terminal in Tanga in February or early March 2027, after delays to the original schedule caused by difficulties shipping specialised equipment and spare parts amid Middle East disruptions.
The 1,443-kilometre heated pipeline will transport crude from Uganda’s oilfields to Tanga for export to international markets.
Mr Makame said EACOP had created about 7,500 jobs for Tanzanians and generated around TZS100 billion in taxes and other government revenues.
The project is also being accompanied by community investments, including water and road projects in areas such as Kahama and Osojo, he said.
TPDC currently oversees production from the Songo Songo and Mnazi Bay fields, which together supply about 170 million cubic feet of natural gas per day.
About 85 percent of the output goes to power generation, underlining the role of domestic gas in Tanzania’s electricity system and industrial activity.
At Mnazi Bay, TPDC drilled three wells during the financial year—two development wells and one exploration well.
The two development wells added about 65 million cubic feet per day of production capacity, taking Mnazi Bay’s output from about 110 million cubic feet per day toward at least 150 million cubic feet per day once associated infrastructure upgrades are completed.
The exploration well is undergoing data analysis, with TPDC expected to make an announcement after the assessment.
The expansion comes as Tanzania seeks to increase domestic gas supply while also creating routes to monetise larger offshore reserves through LNG exports.
For the proposed Tanzania LNG project in Lindi, Mr Makame said commercial negotiations covering the project’s scale, taxation, operations and revenue sharing had been concluded.
Legal teams are now working on the legislation and Host Government Agreements before the project can proceed through government review, parliamentary approval and final execution.
The project is estimated at $42 billion and is designed to commercialise offshore gas discoveries in Tanzania.
The government has also established a team to prepare a local-content strategy aimed at increasing Tanzanian participation through employment, skills transfer and local businesses.
The project’s timing remains important for Tanzania because the country has significant offshore gas resources but has yet to establish a large-scale LNG export industry.
TPDC connected about 1,000 households in Pwani and Lindi to natural gas during 2025/26, while two industrial plants and three private compressed natural gas (CNG) stations were also connected.
Mr Makame said TPDC plans to use CNG to supply consumers within a 500-kilometre radius of existing gas infrastructure, while Mini-LNG technology would be deployed beyond that distance within the next 1½ to two years.
The approach is intended to overcome the cost and geographical limitations of relying solely on fixed pipelines to expand gas use across the country.
TPDC is also developing the Kinyerezi-Chalinze pipeline, with feasibility work 90 percent complete. The pipeline is expected to supply industrial areas in Zegereni and Kwala in Pwani, as well as factories, institutions and households along the route.
TPDC also took a larger role in fuel imports during a period of international market disruption, winning six tenders under the Petroleum Bulk Procurement Agency framework.
Mr Makame said the corporation imported 34 fuel vessels during May, June and July after the government assigned it responsibility for managing national oil imports amid disruptions linked to the Middle East conflict.
Beyond the domestic market, TPDC is pursuing gas pipeline links with Kenya, Uganda and Zambia, as well as refined-product pipelines to Zambia and Uganda.
The corporation is also working on a proposed Tanzania-Mozambique gas link and studying a domestic oil refinery, storage facilities and distribution pipelines.
The projects form part of a broader strategy to position Tanzania as an energy transit and trading hub for East and Central Africa, with regional infrastructure projects being pursued through public-private partnerships.
For TPDC, the challenge will be to translate the expanding project pipeline into commercially sustainable infrastructure while ensuring that increased petroleum revenues and investment generate measurable benefits for the domestic economy.