Orca Ups Output In Tanzania

Tanzania-focused Orca Exploration has expanded output at its offshore Songo Songo field thanks to the start-up of new equipment, the company said on July 24.

The British Virgin Islands-registered operator said it had installed and commissioned a refrigeration package at the Songas gas processing plant, causing production to rise to 90mn ft³/day. Orca did not specify its output prior to the unit’s launch, although it sold 61.3mn ft³/day on average in the first quarter of this year. Gas supply should reach 100mn ft³/day in the coming months, as a result of further optimisation, it said.

Orca has an agreement in place to sell up to 20mn ft³/day of gas to national oil company Tanzania Petroleum Development (TPDC).

“Given the projected increase in gas demand by the power sector in Tanzania over the next year, the installation of the refrigeration facility is an important milestone for us,” Orca CEO Nigel Friend commented. “We continue to work closely with TPDC and the electricity utility, Tanzania Electric Supply Company, to ensure we are in a position to supply natural gas from the Songo Songo field to fuel the development of Tanzania’s growing industrial economy.”