The Oil, Natural Gas and Environmental Alliance (ONGEA)

The Oil, Natural Gas and Environmental Alliance (ONGEA) is the largest national coalition of civil societies involved in natural gas and environmental advocacy in Tanzania. It consists of at least 40 civil society organisations. The alliance draws its membership from local communities from all over Tanzania, especially in and around oil and gas-rich areas such as Kilwa, Mnazi Bay, Mafia and Mkuranga where huge deposits of gas have been discovered.

=Natural Gas related activities=

Review of the National Petroleum Policy Draft
ONGEA together with the civil society organisations—HakiMadini, Policy Forum and the Interfaith Standing Committee on Economic Justice and the Integrity of Creation (ISCJIC)— reviewed the draft of the National Petroleum Policy of Tanzania. In a joint statement, they urged the Ministry of Energy and Minerals to begin the consultation process with domestic stakeholders and the public. Moreover, they urged the Ministry to establish effective financing options for the National Oil Company and its subsidiaries and to ensure transparency and accountability in the management of the country’s natural gas resources.

Statement on Statoil leaked PSA addendum
ISCJIC, HakiMadini, Policy Forum and ONGEA teamed up and issued a statement on the controversy surrounding the leaked addendum to a Production Sharing Agreement (PSA) between Statoil and the government. In the statement, they ask the government to refrain from endorsing confidentiality provisions in any future contracts and review the existing provisions. Moreover, they criticise the Tanzania Petroleum Development Corporation (TPDC) for not providing information on the underlying economic rationale and assumptions applied to justify neither deviation from the model addendum nor the actual terms of the PSA signed.

Specialised Library
ONGEA is working on establishing a specialised library exclusively for Oil and Gas information. The alliance has also made efforts to translate the Petroleum (Exploration & Production) Act of 1980 into Kiswahili, the language that would make it universally accessible to Tanzanians.

=References=