The delegation from the Tanzanian Parliament was in Norway from 1 March to 7 March, and met with representatives from the Ministry of Petroleum and Energy, the Ministry of the Environment, the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The delegation consisted of Members of Parliament from both the ruling party Chama cha Mapinduzi (CCM), the opposition party Chadema and members representing Zanzibar. The members of the delegation were as follows:
Hon. Daniel N. Nsanzugwanko, MP – CCM (Leader of Delegation)
Hon. Charles N. Mwera, MP- CHADEMA
Hon. Faida M. Bakar, MP- CCM (Pemba, Zanzibar)
Lina Kitosi, Secretary to the delegation
Imanuel L. Mwenzegule , Tanzania Petroleum Development Corporation (TPDC)
MEETING THE MINISTER: From the left; Chief Petroleum Engineer Mr. Emmanuel Mwenzegule from TPDC, Hon. Faida M. Bakar (MP) Special Seats from Pemba, Hon. Norwegian Minister for the Environment and International Development Mr. Erik Solheim , Hon. Daniel N. Nsanzugwanko (MP) from Kasulu West Constituency, Hon. Charles N. Mwera (MP) from Tarime Consituency and Ms. Lina Kitosi – (Parliamentary Clerk Assistant ) -Secretary to Delegation.
Meeting with Solheim
The Tanzanian delegation also met with the Norwegian Minister of the Environment and International Development, Mr. Erik Solheim. In the meeting with the Minister, Hon. Mr. Daniel N. Nsanzugwanko emphasised that Tanzania Petroleum Development Corporation (TPDC) is still in need of support, and requested that the support through the Oil for Development programme continues. It was further highlighted that there is a need for building capacity on natural resource management in Tanzania, as well as strengthening the Parliament’s capability to fulfil its role on the area. Tanzania also has a major challenge in developing the necessary infrastructure for oil and gas industry.
Stavanger, Oslo and Kårstø
In addition to meeting the Minister, the Delegation met with the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI) secretariat to which Tanzania was accepted as a candidate country in February 2009. The Delegation also went to Stavanger, the «Oil Capital» of Norway, where they had meetings with the Petroleum Directorate, the Petroleum Safety Authority, and Petrad. Furthermore, the Delegation had the opportunity to visit the Kårstø gas processing plant and meet representatives from the oil industry. Petrad as the organiser also arranged a social programme including visits to the Viking Ship Museum, the sculpture park Vigelandsparken and the Norwegian Oil Museum.
VISITING PETRAD: From left; Project Director at Petrad Mr. Gunnar Sjogren, Ho. Faida M. Bakar (MP), Hon. Daniel N. Nsanzugwanko (MP), Hon. Charles N. Mwera (MP), Ms. Lina Kitosi and Mr. Emmanuel Mwenzegule.
Valuable Information
According to the delegation, the official visit to Norway was very important.
- It gave us a wider perspective on the oil and petroleum sector as a whole. The input from the visit will be useful for the future work of the Tanzanian Energy and Minerals Committee, and we are is looking forward to co-operating further with Norway within the energy sector, says Daniel N. Nsanzugwanko.
Norway and Tanzania have agreed that energy should be a focus are of the bilateral co-operation between the countries.
- Tanzania is actively exploring its oil and gas resources. We are happy to share some of the experiences from the Norwegian petroluem exploitation with Tanzanian partners, and hope that this will help them secure that future oil and gas revenues will benefit the Tanzanian people, says Norway's Ambassador to Tanzania, Mr. Jon Lomøy.
For more information please contact Programme Officer on Energy at the Royal Norwegian Embassy, Mr. Ørnulf Strøm +255 782 777 010 / oest@mfa.no