Breaking news - "Oil search to begin in Lake Tanganyika."

Australian company Beach Petroleum Limited has won the tender to search for oil in the southern half of Lake Tanganyika and surrounding area, “This Day” newspaper reports. Until now Lake Tanganyika has been poorly explored although scientific data and oil seeps seen on the surface of the lake suggest that there may be large petroleum deposits similar to those found in Uganda to the north.

Beach Petroleum Limited must now negotiate a production-sharing agreement with the Tanzania Petroleum Development Corporation (TPDC) before starting work. Lake Tanganyika sits on the East African Rift system and is part of the oil-rich Albert basin that includes Lake Albert and Lake Edward to the north and Lake Malawi to the south.

At least 14 energy companies are already exploring in Tanzania and three areas with natural gas deposits have already been found at SongoSongo, Mnazi Bay and Mkuranga. These finds, together with the discovery of oil on the border of Uganda and Democratic Republic of Congo, have renewed interest in the east Africa region which is increasingly seen as an alternative source of fossil fuel to other less stable parts of Africa and the Middle East.