By Kelly Gilblom
STONE TOWN, Zanzibar, June 6 | Wed Jun 6, 2012 11:40am EDT
(Reuters) – Royal Dutch 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, which has become a hot spot for oil and gas exploration after new finds.