Petroleum Act 2015.

This Act consisting of 261 articles divided into XII Parts aims at providing for (i) regulating upstream, midstream and downstream petroleum activities; (ii) establishing the Petroleum Upstream Regulatory Authority; (iii) providing for the National Oil Company; (iv) securing the accountability of petroleum entities; and (v) providing for other related matters. Part I of the Preliminary Provisions related to the administration of petroleum activities in Tanzania Mainland and Tanzania Zanzibar specifies that (i) operations undertaken in Tanzania Mainland are governed by the institutions established under this Act; (ii) operations undertaken in Tanzania Zanzibar are governed following the laws of Tanzania Zanzibar; (iii) the two Governments may enter into arrangements to undertake joint petroleum operations in specific areas or overlapping blocks; (iv) revenues derived from petroleum activities shall be for the account and use of the concerned Government; (v) the Governments of both regions shall have the discretion to enter into arrangements regarding the financial administration of resources which are different to those mentioned above.
Article 4 establishes that Petroleum activities under the geographical jurisdiction of Mainland Tanzania or Tanzania Zanzibar need an authorization, licence, permit or approval granted in accordance with this Act or laws of Zanzibar. Role of the Minister is detailed in article 5. Article 7 reagrds the Oil and Gas Advisory Bureau, the body with the task of advising the Cabinet on strategic matters relating to oil and gas economy. Under article 8, the Tanzania Petroleum Development Corporation (TPDC) is mandated as the official National Oil Company (NOC). Article 11 establishes a Petroleum Upstream Regulatory Authority (PURA) with the following functions (i) advise the Minister of Energy and Minerals on negotiations of production sharing agreements and other contracts; (ii) be responsible for implementing local content in the petroleum sector; (iii) responsible for processing, granting, renewing, suspending and canceling exploration, development and production licenses; (iv) responsible for facilitating the resolution of complaints and disputes; (v) prepare a reference map which may be revised periodically, showing areas of possible petroleum accumulation divided into graticular sections (The map shall be available at PURA offices and on PURA’s website. A decision to open an area for petroleum activities is made by the Minister upon approval by the Cabinet). Article 29 establishes the Energy and Water Utilities Regulatory Authority (EWURA), the regulator of midstream and downstream activities. The tasks of EWURA are as follows (i) the issue, renewal, suspension, and cancellation of construction approvals and operational licenses; (ii) the collection of fees and levies for the petroleum sector under the EWURA Act; (iii) approval of applications for tariffs and prices; (iv) promotion of the use of local goods and services produced and provided in Tanzania; (v) promotion of the 'maximum participation of Tanzanians in every part of the petroleum value chain'.
Article 35 provides for permits when a company wishes to carry out reconnaissance surveys. Reconnaissance permits are non-exclusive and multiple permits may be issued to different parties for the same area. A reconnaissance permit shall allow shallow drilling for data calibration purposes, data that belong to the Government, notwithstanding the right of the permit holder and PURA to use the information gathered. Article 45 grants the NOC the exclusive right to be granted petroleum rights including licenses, that are not transferrable. Private sector participants must partner with the NOC which shall retain a 25% interest in any joint venture. The Act distingueshes between exploration licences (art.52) and development licences (art.67).
It is also established that (i) the discovery of petroleum has to be notified (art.63); (ii) the Minister may prepare a petroleum emergency plan to intervene in the petroleum supply chain to protect safety (art.182); (iii) the Fair Competition Commission (FCC) shall play a part in monitoring the sector to ensure fair competition (art.184); (iv) a licensee shall compensate a property owner for any wayleave granted and any dispute related to the amount of compensation shall be settled under the Land Acquisition Act (art.187); (v) a license holder and contractor shall be liable for pollution damage without regard to a fault (art.211).