Shell looks to clear path in Zanzibar

Stepping up: Shell tries to relieve stalemate in Zanzibar

REUTERS/RADU SIGHETI

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By News Wires

 06 June 2012 21:00 GMT

Anglo-Dutch supermajor Shell is stepping up efforts to help clear the way to explore for oil and gas in east Africa after a decade-long delay due to a standoff between Zanzibar and Tanzania on the sharing of potential revenue, company officials said.

The dispute between semi-autonomous Zanzibar and its mainland rulers has prevented Shell from starting work on four blocks off Zanzibar's coast or selling interests in its exploration rights in the region, Reuters reported.

Shell said it could not discuss details of its negotiations with the governments but was hopeful of a resolution.

The company will be able to move forward when a production-sharing agreement it started negotiations on in 2003 is finalised.

"We have recently been engaging with both the Tanzanian and Zanzibar governments with a view to achieving this, which would allow exploration…

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