Shaaban Ali Othman, Minister for Blue Economy and Fisheries, Revolutionary Government of Zanzibar

On 20th March 2024, His Excellency Dr. Hussein Ali Mwinyi, the President of Zanzibar, and the Chairman of the Revolutionary Council, inaugurated the historic Zanzibar 1st Licensing Round for the eight offshore oil and gas blocks. 

The blocks, situated offshore to the east of the Unguja and Pemba Islands within water depths between 500m and 3,000m, represent a large frontier area and form part of a five-year exploration road map. The blocks offered under the 1st Licensing Round include Block 1-A, Block 1-B, Block 1-C, Block 1-D, Block 1-E, Block 1-F, Block 1-G, and Block 1-H.  

Initially, the 1st Licensing Round Schedule offered six months, up to September 2024. Following promotional campaigns around the world to attract potential investment, it was discovered that the time limit for bid submissions was not favourable for many IOCs. 

Shaaban Ali Othman, Minister for Blue Economy and Fisheries and responsible for the upstream oil and gas sector in Zanzibar, on behalf of the Revolutionary Government of Zanzibar comments: 
“I have the great pleasure to announce the extension of the deadline for bid submissions for the Zanzibar 1st Licensing Round for three months. Therefore, the new bid submission deadline will be 16 December 2024. I would like to take this opportunity, once again, to invite all IOCs to take advantage of our friendly and flexible offer of eight offshore blocks available in the Zanzibar 1st Licensing Round.”

Strategically located, and benefiting from political, social and economic stability, Zanzibar aims to build a resilient economy for the benefit of its people through the sustainable development of its offshore petroleum resources. That strong political will to drive investment is coupled with renewed fiscal terms to enhance the investor environment in the oil and gas sector, including the constitutional protection of private investments.  

For further information, interested parties should visit the official website of the Zanzibar 1st Licensing Round.

KeyFacts Energy: Licensing news