PanAfrican Energy Tanzania responds to parliamentary committee probe report

Dar es Salaam. PanAfrican Energy Tanzania (PAET) has responded to a report released by the special Parliamentary committee formed to probe the natural gas subsector saying there are a number of findings and allegations against it which appear inaccurate.

The firm which is the developer and operator of the Songo Songo Block said in a statement that it cannot make specific comments as it had not seen the full report but was concerned by the allegations while it claimed to have complied with the terms of the contracts it entered with the government.

“Despite making extensive submissions of facts to the special committee, there are a number of findings and allegations in connection with the report which appear inaccurate or inconsistent with the actual facts. PAET stands by its impeccable operational record and the significant economic benefit of those operations which has accrued to the United Republic of Tanzania to date,” the company stated.

The Bunge team was formed last November and conducted its work from January 2018. The committee presented its findings on Saturday to the Speaker of the National Assembly Job Ndugai in Dodoma who also handed the report to the government.

The committee chairman Mr Dunstan Kitandula remarked that his team went through contracts of 11 companies engaged in oil and gas and discovered that the Production-Sharing Agreements (PSAs) provide a loophole for the companies to evade taxes, levies and royalties payable to the government.

He mentioned companies that were fully operational like Pan African Energy, Mnazi Bay and Kili One North. He said the government had lost over Sh136 billion in tax from Pan African Energy and through Songo Songo PSA agreement alone, the government had lost over Sh21.95 billion.

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