PURA joins rig inspection in China ahead of Mnazi Bay drilling

Tianjin, China: AS the drilling of three natural gas wells at Mnazi Bay Block, Mtwara Region expected to start later this year, the Petroleum Upstream Regulatory Authority (PURA), has participated in the inspection and testing of a drilling rig that will be used during the implementation of the country’s strategic project.

The inspection, conducted in Tianjin Province, China, aimed to verify the rig’s strength and efficiency before it is transported to southern Tanzania for drilling operations scheduled to commence in November 2025.

According to information provided by PURA to the Daily News, the inspected equipment has the capacity to drill up to 8,000 meters deep. In addition to the rig, the regulator also participated as an observer in the inspection and testing of various rig systems and the pipelines to be used during the drilling process.

This inspection phase is crucial to ensuring the rig’s performance and reliability before the project’s execution.

As the national regulator of upstream petroleum operations, PURA is involved in and oversees all phases of the project to ensure it is implemented according to plan.

The wells to be drilled—MS-2, MB-5, and Kasa-1x—are expected to increase natural gas production by more than 30 million cubic feet per day.

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Last month, it was announced that these three wells would mark the resumption of drilling in the Mnazi Bay Block after a ten-year hiatus—the last well having been drilled there in 2015.

Speaking at the opening of a workshop for project contractors held in Dar es Salaam in June, Mr. Charles Nyangi, representing the Director General of PURA, said this milestone in the Mnazi Bay Block is the result of the Government’s concerted efforts to advance the oil and natural gas sub-sector.

“As mentioned, the last well in the Mnazi Bay Block was drilled in 2015. Ten years later, a new chapter is about to be written with the drilling of new wells. Indeed, the Sixth Phase Government, under the leadership of Her Excellency Dr Samia Suluhu Hassan has demonstrated its commitment to ensuring the continued growth and strengthening of the oil and gas sub-sector,” said Mr Nyangi, who heads PURA’s Local Content and Stakeholders Engagement Unit.