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Brief history of the country
Malawi (the Republic of Malawi) is bordered by Zambia to the west, Tanzania to the east, and Mozambique to the east, south and west. It is separated from Tanzania and Mozambique by Lake Malawi.
The area had a small population of hunter-gatherers before being settled by Bantus from the north in the 10th century. By 1600 the Maravi empire was united under one ruler who traded with the Portuguese, but by 1700 the empire had broken up.
Livingstone reached Lake Malawi in 1859 and missions were established. A British Consul arrived in 1883 and in 1889 a British protectorate was proclaimed. This was extended in 1891 to include the whole of Malawi and called the British Central Africa Protectorate, renamed Nyasaland in 1907.
In 1953 the semi-independent Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland (Central African Federation) was created. Nyasaland was granted independence from the UK in 1964 and called Malawi. It became a republic in 1966.
The new president ruled a single party regime until 1993 when the population voted for a multi-party democracy. Although remaining autocratic the country has mostly been stable and its outlook is now improving. With a largely rural population, the economy is based on agriculture depending on outside aid to meet development needs.
Oil and gas summary
Malawi is land-locked and dominated by the western arm of the Great Rift Valley which runs through the country from north to south. East of the valley lies Lake Malawi (also called Lake Nyasa and Calendar Lake) which makes up over three-quarters of Malawi's eastern boundary.
The western rift valley includes the Albertine Rift of Uganda as well as the valley of Lake Malawi. The maximum depth of the lake is 701m and its bottom is over 200m below sea level. Mountainous areas surround the rift valley.
Its location within the East African Rift has led a few companies to consider the opportunity for analogous fields to those found in countries to the north. The Western Rift that forms Lake Malawi is on trend with the Ugandan Albertine Rift and is partly filled by Cenozoic sediments. Uganda has several large oil fields in Lake Albert and its near-shore areas.
However, no petroleum potential has yet been identified in Malawi and its geology is probably unsuitable for the accumulation and preservation of commercial oil or gas fields. No exploration wells have yet been drilled in the country and Globalshift does not forecast any future production of oil or gas from the country in the short or medium term.
MALAWI
Map and National Flag
South and East Africa
S. AND E. AFRICA
Boat on the lake
Government
Malawi’s president is both chief of state and head of government.The president is elected every 5 years and the vice president and cabinet is chosen by the president.
The legislative branch consists of a unicameral 193-member National Assembly. The constitution provides for an 80-member Senate but one does not exist in practice.
The Ministry of Mining is responsible for natural resources in the country but there is no department overseeing oil and gas resources.
Capital
Population
Land area (sq kms)
Oil prod (000s b/d)
Gas prod (bcm/yr)
Oil cons (000s b/d)
Gas cons (bcm/yr)
Lilongwe
15.5 mm
118,484
None
None
13
None