Potential archival preservation strategies for petroleum energy records in Tanzania

The study examined the extent to which petroleum energy information resources at the Tanzania Petroleum Development Corporation are managed for long-term usage. Combinations of methods were used to collect data for this study including a questionnaire, face to face interviews, and observations. Major findings of the study revealed that the TPDC has a multi-format and valuable petroleum archival resource and that the institution does not have a written archival preservation policy. Findings further revealed that archival preservation at TPDC is given low priority and that the TPDC has inadequate storage facilities and equipment, inadequate archival human resources and that the archival component is underfunded. This study recommends that TPDC should create an archival policy to guide its archiving activities and should invest in archival information infrastructure, and improve both archival storage conditions and train more archivists. Finally the study identifies areas for future research.