The Tanzanian government delegation met with the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources (ESDM) to discuss Pertamina's investment plan in Tanzania and learn about processing Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) with Indonesia.

James Peter Mataragio as Head of the Tanzania Government Negotiating Team (GNT) Delegation and Deputy Permanent Secretary Minister of Energy went to Indonesia in accordance with the direction of the President of Tanzania, Samia Suluhu Haasan.

"The first mission is to discuss Pertamina's investment plan, both upstream and midstream in Tanzania. The second mission is to learn about LNG management in Indonesia," Mataragio said on Monday, December 16, 2024.

GNT Tanzania is a team formed by the local government to negotiate strategic projects, especially in the energy and natural resources sectors. GNT consists of representatives from various Tanzanian government ministries and agencies.

Lana Saria, Expert Staff for Natural Resources Economics, said the visit was to benchmark the management of LNG projects in Indonesia.

He hopes that this meeting will initiate cooperation, especially in the oil and gas sector, and open up more potential for collaboration in the future.

Tanzania is one of the countries in the East African region with an area of 947 thousand square kilometers and relies on the agricultural sector.

In 2010, this country discovered natural gas reserves in offshore areas, followed by the discovery of other reserves. Its total proven reserves in 2016 reached 57 trillion cubic feet (TCF).

With the discovery of natural gas reserves, the Tanzanian government conducted studies in other countries, including Indonesia, regarding the utilization and management of LNG.

Mirza Mahendra, Director of Oil and Gas Program Development, said that Indonesia has six LNG refineries with a total installed capacity of 48.10 million metric tons per year (MMTPA) and a total refinery capacity operating in 2024 of 35.25 MMTPA.

Some of the LNG is exported with a total of 301 MMBTU until the first semester of 2024. The destination countries are China, South Korea, and Japan.

"In addition, there are also several other countries that are the destinations for Indonesia's LNG exports, such as Taiwan, the United States, the European Union, Thailand, Singapore, Papua New Guinea, Pakistan, Mexico, Kuwait, Myanmar, Bangladesh, India and Egypt," Mirza said.

Based on oil and gas trade balance records, national LNG exports in 2023 increased by 5.7 percent from 562 million MMBTU to 596 million MMBTU.