Echoing the message of cautious excitement that has come with the discoveries in the region, Eardley-Taylor of Standard Bank said, "I hope that Mozambique and Tanzania continue to take full advantage of the resources that they are blessed with. We often hear of the resource-curse horror stories that have taken place around the globe; it would be great to see Mozambique avoid this path, following in the footsteps of the other success stories like Qatar, leveraging and monetizing their resources."

Guaranteeing that these African states make the most out of their newly found resource will require prudence and foresight from both foreign multinationals and the respective governments. Fortunately, cooperation amongst the different parties is already beginning to bear fruit. Recent efforts by the TPDC and its partners in the private sector to train and educate Tanzanians in petroleum engineering are under way. "Universities, technical colleges and vocational schools have introduced curriculum with the goal of preparing students for meaningful careers in the oil industry upon graduation," said Kilembe.

Of equal importance to the future of the sector will be internal reform. As the investment dollars continue to pour into East Africa, levels of corruption, high in both states, will have to drop significantly. Failing to tame this issue will undoubtedly lead to unjustifiable income disparities and disenchantment amongst the public for the industry as a whole.

Realizing the dream of transforming East Africa into a global energy hub will only become possible if the benefits of sector are experienced by the masses. If this fails to take place, then the countries that share the Rovuma Basin may find themselves along the same path as some of their richer, yet socially troubled, counterparts in West Africa. The hope is that all parties can learn from the past mistakes in the continent, and instead use this new-resource wealth to transform Tanzania and Mozambique into middle-income economies.

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