BURIANI DR. PHILIP NELSON

Ni siku ya Ijumaa tarehe 22 March nilipokutana na Dr. Philip Nelson aliponitembelea ofisini kwangu Mwenge akiwa amechangamka kama kawaida yake. Mara kwa mara alipokuwa ananitembelea hasa siku za hivi karibuni alikuwa akinipa moyo kuwa Tanzania ni nchi Tajiri sana na kwa kipindi cha miaka 10 tu ijayo Tanzania itakuwa ni nchi tajiri kuliko zote duniani. Alikuwa akimaanisha hayo kutokana na kuwa mstari wambele katika kufanya tafiti mbalimbali za ugunduzi wa mafuta na gesi. Alinionyesha reserves kubwa mno ya mafuta na gesi katika pwani ya Tanzania. Akanionyesha picha za satelite zenye kuonyesha uwepo wa gesi nyingi ukanda wa Morogoro hasa Kilombero na kwingineko kwingi Tanzania na Uganda. Nilianza kupata matumaini ya kuwa muda si mrefu Tanzania tutaanza kuneemeka,na nilikuwa na kila sababu ya kuamini hivyo kwani kila alichonioambia kilikuwa na sapoti ya picha za kitaaalam na satelite. Hata hivyo nilivyoonyesha furaha yangu kwa hili alinikumbusha tatizo la Africa"Don't be exited already because all these will depend on how your politicians will handle it" kwamba nisifurahi sana kwa kuwa kupata mafanikio hayo kutatokana na jinsi wanasiasa wetu watakavyokuwa na busara. Nilitamani kuanza kuandika makala inayohusu gesi na mafuta lakini nilibatilisha uamuzi ule baada ya sintofahamu ya kule Mtwara nikaona sio busara kufanya hivyo sasa. 

Dr. Philip ambaye alikuwa akiishi Apartment B14 Plot 100 Uganda Avenue Oysterbay na girlfriend wake Caroline alikuwa akifanya kazi za research sana na nyumbani kwake kulikuwa kama ofisini, na alibandika ukutani ramani kubwa inayoonyesha utajiri wa mafuta na gesi ya Tanzania. Ijumaa aliniambia kwamba kati ya nchi zaidi ya 20 alizowahi kufanya kazi na kuishi hakuna nchi aliyopenda kama Tanzania. Akanionyesha jinsi anga lilivyo la blue, miti, watu mbali mbali aliokuwa anakutana nao kila siku na akasema Tanzania ni nchi nzuri kuliko nchi zote duniani na sasa inastahili kuwa tajiri kuliko zote duniani na yeye mwenyewe kwamba asingeeenda tena popote zaidi ya kufanya kazi, kuishi na kufia Tanzania.

Dr. Philip alifanya kazi kwenye kampuni ya Petrodel na mwishoni mwa mwaka jana alihamia kampuni ya Swala Energy. Ni msomi ambaye alibobea kwenye maswala ya gesi na mafuta mwenye Phd BSc FEI.

Tulivyoachana Ijumaa aliniambia kwamba hakuna kitu kizuri kama kuishi na alipenda sana kuishi hasa Tanzania. Jana Jumamosi miida ya saa mbili za usiku girlfriend wake Caroline akanipigia simu kuwa niende haraka kwenye apartment yao kule Oysterbay kwa kuwa Dr. Philip amejiua kwa kujirusha kutoka Ghorofa ya nne na kufa hapo hapo. 

Ukweli ni kwamba Dr. Philip amejiua na kuacha ujumbe mfupi sana wa kutokumuhusisha mtu yeyote na kifo chake kwamba ni uamuzi wake ameufikia mwenyewe kutokana na msukumo uliokuwa nje kabisa ya uwezo wake. Mwili wa Dr. Philip umebaki vipande vipande na picha zake hazifai hata kuweka hapa mtandaoni. Ni ajabu na kweli. Ni ajabu kwa sababu hakuna anayejua anachofikiria mwanadamu mwingine na hakuna anayejua kuwa binadamu mwingine ana uwezo wa kufanya maamuzi magumu kiasi kile. Tena kwa mtu aliyekuwa na elimu ya juu, busara za hali ya juu na umri wa zaidi ya miaka 75. Ni nini kimemsibu Dr. Philip hadi akaamua kukatiza maisha yake wakati huu ambapo utaalamu wake ndiyo unahitajika sana? Hata polisi waliofika nyumbani mara nyingi kujaribu kujenga hoja inayoeleweka wamebaki wanaduwaaa. Sisi tuliokuwa watu wake wa karibu tumeendelea kuduwaa. Tena ndugu zake (london) nao aliwaaga kuwa "i am going to die" na akazima simu na akajifungian ndani na kuruka kupitia dirishani hadi chini kabisa na kusambaratika "what a human mystery"

Kwa waliokuwa wanamfahamu Dr. Philip, waliokuwa nawafanya naye kazi baharini, Pemba, Zamzibar, Tanga, Magamoyo, Mtwara, na hivi karibuni Zambia, kama mtapenda kuhudhiria msiba uko

Apartment B14

Plot 100 Uganda Avenue

Oysterbay

Dar es Salaam

Mipango ya mazishi bado inasubiri kuwasili kwa watoto wake wanaotarajia kufika kesho na mipango ya kumwaga na kumsafirisha itajulikana hapo polisi na ndugu na ubalozi na familia watakapofikia mwafaka.

Hakuna anayejua kilichomsibu hadi kufikia uamuzi huo, na kwa kuwa sisi kama binadamu hatupaswi kutoa hukumu, hatuna budi kuiombea roho yake ipate haki mbele za Aliyemuumba. Amen

Swala Energy News

19th September 2012

Dr. PHIL NELSON TO JOIN THE BOARD OF SWALA OIL AND GAS (TANZANIA) LTD.

Dr. PHIL NELSON TO JOIN THE BOARD OF SWALA OIL AND GAS (TANZANIA) LTD.
Swala Oil & Gas (Tanzania) Limited is pleased to welcome Dr. Philip (“Phil”) Nelson to the Board, where his acknowledged experience in the oil and gas sector will help guide the Company as it approaches its second year of operations.
Dr. Nelson graduated in 1959 with a BSc (1^st Class Hons, Geology) at the University of Manchester. He then began a six years career with the British Antarctic Survey, gaining his PhD in Geology (University of Birmingham, 1965) with a thesis entitled The James Ross Island Volcanic Group of North East Graham Land. This was based on his two years field work in Antarctica after which he joined Shell as a geophysicist.  He spent more than 28 years with Shell including assignments in The UK, The Netherlands, Norway, Canada, Turkey, Nigeria and Pakistan.
As Geophysical Advisor to Shell (1988–92) he was involved with activities in Africa, the Middle East, Far East and other areas. During this time, he participated in acreage, prospect, field and reserves evaluation and determination, in settings as diverse as Madagascar, Nigeria, Gabon, offshore Sarawak, and the North Sea. His main focus has always been on oil and gas Exploration and Appraisal, largely in seismic interpretation, but including acquisition and processing. Throughout his career, he has also been involved with all other aspects of Exploration and Appraisal related to the incorporation of, inter alia, drilling results into subsurface evaluations.
Since retiring from Shell in 1993 he has worked as an independent consultant with emphasis on East & West Africa; including Bénin, Cameroon, Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana, Guinea Conakry, Liberia, Nigeria, Tanzania and Zambia. He served on the Board of Mart Resources, Inc. from 2002 to 2008, and was CEO of Oceanus Petroleum Corporation from 2004 to 2006. From 2006 to 2011 he was Director E&P of Petrodel Resources Limited, principally managing two PSAs in Tanzania.  Dr. Nelson has worked as a professional geoscientist for 53 years, 47 of which have been spent in Oil and Gas Exploration.
Dr. Nelson is a Fellow of the UK Energy Institute and an active Member of the AAPG, PESGB, and SEG.  From 2002 to 2004 he sat on the Board of the EAGE as Publications Officer. During 1994–96, he was a Visiting Professor in the Dept of Geology, Imperial College London.
Swala Oil and Gas (Tanzania) Ltd. warmly welcomes Dr. Nelson to its Board of Directors.