Residents of a gas-rich region of Tanzania rioted to protest that they would not
benefit from a government
budget proposal to construct a pipeline from their territory to
the capital.
Tanzania estimates it has more than 40
trillion cubic feet (tcf) of recoverable natural gas reserves. Discoveries off east
Africa's seaboard have led to predictions the region could become the world's
third-largest exporter of natural
gas.
Residents of the southern Tanzanian Mtwara region
are opposing the construction of a 532 km (330 mile) pipeline - financed by a
$1.2 billion Chinese loan - until they get a bigger share of the benefits from
gas development.
Tanzania's deputy home affairs minister,
Pereira Silima,
said riots had erupted in Mtwara but could not give details. Local media
reported that police fired teargas, several buildings were torched and one
person was killed.
The state-run Tanzania Petroleum Development
Corporation (TPDC) said Mtwara was one of two regions in southern Tanzania
where onshore liquefied natural gas (LNG) plants will be built.
Norway's Statoil, Brazil's Petrobras, Royal Dutch Shell and Exxon Mobil Corp
are among energy companies exploring for oil and gas in Tanzania.
British gas firm BG Group said earlier this month it would present the
Tanzanian government with proposed locations for a big LNG terminal in the next
few months.
