Orca Energy has filed arbitration claims against the Government of Tanzania and the Tanzania Petroleum Development Corporation over the Songo Songo Gas-to-Electricity Project. The claims involve alleged breaches of the production sharing agreement, gas agreement, and investment treaty, including licence delays and forced subsidised gas supply after 31 July 2024.
The company confirmed that its Mauritius-based subsidiary, Pan African Energy Corporation (PAEM), submitted a Request for Arbitration to the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID) under the bilateral investment treaty (BIT) between Mauritius and Tanzania. In parallel, its Jersey-based subsidiary, PanAfrican Energy Tanzania (PAET), submitted two additional Requests for Arbitration to ICSID against both Tanzania and TPDC under the Production Sharing Agreement (PSA) and the Gas Agreement (GA), both signed on 11 October 2001.
The three claims arise from what Orca describes as a series of actions and omissions by Tanzania and TPDC that threaten the viability of the Songo Songo Gas-to-Electricity Project and violate multiple obligations under the BIT, PSA, and GA. According to Orca, the first breach involves TPDC’s failure to apply in a timely and proper manner for the extension of the Songo Songo Development Licence, which expires on 10 October 2026. Orca states that when TPDC eventually submitted the application in November 2024, it did so unilaterally, without consultation, and on terms deemed commercially unviable. Since then, Tanzania has reportedly refused to engage in substantive dialogue.
Read more at: https://www.tanzaniainvest.com/energy/songo-songo-gas-to-electricity-project-arbitration-filing
