Hormuz Crisis Boosts Appeal of Equinor's $42 Billion Tanzania LNG Project

Philippe Mathieu, Equinor's Executive Vice President for Exploration and Production International, told Reuters on Tuesday, August 25, 2026, on the sidelines of an energy conference in Stavanger, Norway, that the Strait of Hormuz crisis, which has crippled global LNG supply, has made the $42 billion Tanzania LNG project more attractive for the Norwegian company. He said now is a good time to advance the project so new LNG volumes are not delayed too long in reaching the market.

Equinor and its partner Shell have faced years of difficult negotiations with Tanzania's government, and the project, which would connect offshore Tanzanian gas discoveries to an export terminal, has advanced little over the past decade. Shell has held stakes in two offshore blocks with 16 trillion cubic feet of discovered gas since 2016, while Equinor has made discoveries totaling more than 20 trillion cubic feet since starting exploration in 2011.