PURA invites Chevron to invest in Tanzania’s petroleum sector

ACCRA, GHANA: The Petroleum Upstream Regulatory Authority (PURA) has invited Chevron Corporation, one of the United States’ leading energy companies, to invest in Tanzania’s upstream petroleum sector.

PURA expressed the invitation during Africa Oil Week 2025 held in Accra, Ghana in a meeting that featured high level officials from both sides including PURA’s Director General, Eng Charles Sangweni and Jan Pluis, Chevron’s Manager for Global Exploration and New Ventures.

During the meeting, Eng Sangweni informed Chevron of the existing exciting opportunities in Tanzania’s petroleum upstream sector and the plans in the pipeline, including the launch of the fifth licensing round.

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“With about 30 percent of sedimentary basins explored in Tanzania and plans to launch a bidding round through which blocks from the offshore Indian Ocean and Lake Tanganyika will be auctioned, opportunities are abundant for Chevron,” said Sangweni.

He also added that, with existing gas-producing fields and gas infrastructure including processing facilities and pipelines, Tanzania remains an ideal investment destination for Chevron.

On his part, Mr Pluis stated that Chevron is fully committed to strategically expanding its operations in Africa, citing its established presence in Nigeria, Equatorial Guinea, and Angola.

He also noted that Chevron is looking at Tanzania’s’ oil and gas sector with keen interest and working ensure that the company grabs the investment opportunities presented by the county.

The Petroleum Upstream Regulatory Authority (PURA) is the regulatory authority established under Section 11 of the Petroleum Act, 2015 (Act No. 21 of 2015) with the mandate to regulate and monitor petroleum upstream operations and LNG activities in the Mainland Tanzania and providing advisory services to the Government and the Minister responsible for petroleum affairs.

The mandate is underpinned in several Policy and legal instruments including: the National Energy Policy, 2015; the Petroleum Act, 2015; the Oil and Gas Revenue Management Act, 2015 and the Tanzania Extractive Industries (Transparency and Accountability) Act, 2015.

The Oil and Gas Revenue Management Act of 2015 requires PURA to carry out or cause to be carried out costs and revenues audit of the petroleum operations. The Extractive Industry (Transparence and Accountability) Act, 2015 also requires PURA to observe transparency and accountability in its undertakings.

PURA mandates is further derived from the National Energy Policy, 2015 which gives guidance on establishment of upstream regulator to effectively and efficiently manage petroleum upstream operations.