Oil &Gas Tanzania
AS
the government embarks on gas extraction, Tanzania Petroleum
Development Corporation (TPDC) has assured the public that all safety
measures are seriously observed in the exploration and extraction of gas
and oil across the country.
The TPDC
Director of Exploration and Development, Mr Kelvin Komba, said yesterday
that the body believes in zero fatality in both gas and oil extraction.
“TPDC is very
serious on health, safety and environment. We cannot allow any company
or any process to take place without considering such key issues.They
are everything to us,” he said.
He added that
TPDC makes sure all exploration companies and its officials adhere to
the Environment Management Act, 2004. “TPDC conducts its activities by
taking into account the Environment Management Act, 2004.
Whoever violates the law faces legal action immediately,” he said.
He said his
office is looking forward to asking the Ministry for Agriculture,
Livestock and Fisheries to conduct studies and give results regarding
claims that fishermen no longer get enough fish along areas where gas
projects are located.
"We would like
to ask the ministry concerned through the fisheries sector to conduct a
special study on the availability of fish.
However, what I
understand is that gas extraction activities are taking place about 100
kilometres offshore where most of our fishermen do not reach," he noted.
TPDC
Communication Manager, Ms Maria Msellemu, said her office has been
conducting awareness trainings to villagers in the southern regions.
According to Ms Msellemu, TPDC offers learning materials prepared in simple language.
The upshot is to
enable everybody to understand issues regarding gas exploration,
extraction, its importance to the country’s economy, measures to be
taken during extraction and other things of such nature. "We are doing
all these because we value safety, health and environment.
Our focus now is
in the Southern regions, but we are also eying the Northern Lake Zone
regions," she explained. She added that TPDC also trains journalists to
ensure they manage to publish analytical reports with enough knowledge
on gas and oil related matters.
TPDC has also
formed at least 32 oil and gas clubs in various secondary schools. "We
have formed 32 oil and gas clubs at different secondary schools in the
southern regions. In Lindi for example, we have a total of 15 clubs and
17 clubs are in Mtwara," noted Ms Msellemu.
TPDC public
relations officer, Mr Malik Munisi, said the body uses brochures,
seminars and public rallies to pass information to the public regarding
gas and oil projects in the southern regions.
"Citizens have
been informed on the measures to be taken in case of any problem. We
have supplied them with a hotline phone number so that they can make
free calls whenever they smell or see anything unusual.
We have a
24-hour emergency response unit which responds to calls and addresses
problems as soon as possible," he said. Earlier, experts and
environmental activists urged the government and its regulatory bodies
to ensure pre-cautions and safety measures are given top priority to
avoid safety hazards, which may result from improper gas extraction
activities.
According to
experts, if not well handled, gas extraction could lead to global
warming, air, water and land pollution as well as earthquakes in some
areas, which is dangerous to human beings and nature generally.
Some areas where
drilling occurs have experienced increases in concentrations of
hazardous air pollution, which results in adverse health outcomes,
including respiratory symptoms, cardiovascular disease and cancer.
Some experts who
spoke to the ‘Sunday News’ urged the government through its regulatory
bodies to make sure safety measures are considered so as to protect
Tanzanians and other living organisms life as well as the environment.
Dr Abubakar
Salama from the department of chemical and mining of the College of
Engineering and Technology (CoET) of the University of Dar es Salaam
said unconventional gas extraction leads to water pollution.
He said the
practice may pose health risks to nearby communities through
contamination of drinking water sources with hazardous chemicals used in
drilling the wellbore, hydraulically fracturing the well, processing
and refining the oil or gas or disposing of wastewater.
Dr Salama said
during the drilling process, there is a possibility for leakage of
dangerous gas from pipes. “When gas leaks, it reduces the amount of
oxygen and thus human beings in the vicinity can get lung and heart
related diseases as well as cancer,” he said.
He added that
gas extraction also may affect ecosystem. He said gas extraction leads
to bush clearing and erosions, which harm local ecosystem.
According to Dr
Salama, such exercises cause segmentation that also leads to lower water
level and thus animals, insects and other organisms escape away during
the clearing processes. Moreover, human beings are forced to get water
from deep wells.
“Apart from using water from deep wells, still there is a danger of being contaminated with chemicals in case pipes are leaking.
This could
affect human being’s health and probably kill other living organisms
including fish,” said Dr Salama. One major cause of gas contamination is
improperly constructed or failing wells that allow gas to leak from the
well into groundwater.
On earthquake, Dr Salama said earthquake can happen in areas with hydraulic fracturing that is linked to low-magnitude.
On ileum gas,
the expert said improper extraction of ileum gas can cause dizziness,
fatigue, headache, suffocation and other problems of such nature. He
said its liquid could lead to skin complications.
Dr Salama advised the government to move people’s residences to at least one kilometre from the processing site.
“The government
must compensate people and move them from all project areas, it is very
dangerous for them to continue staying there,” he said.
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