In a licensing round the next week, the Democratic Republic of the Congo will offer 27 oil blocks and three gas blocks, roughly twice as many as originally anticipated, the hydrocarbons ministry announced on Monday.
The Republic of Congo, a major producer of copper, cobalt, gold, and diamonds, has long sought to expand its oil industry and is thought to contain sizable reserves. Due to underinvestment, output has been stable at roughly 25,000 barrels per day for years.
The plans have alarmed environmental organisations and campaigners because so many of the concessions cross national parks. In the past, Congo has defended its right to explore for oil in protected areas.
Three blocks in the coastal basin of Kongo Central Province, nine in the Cuvette Centrale, 11 close to Lake Tanganyika, and four close to Lake Albert are among the parcels that will be put up for auction on July 28.
In particular, the Cuvette Centrale is situated on peatlands that, according to scientists, have the potential to rupture and release enormous amounts of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere.
Nine of the 16 oil blocks up for auction in Congo’s original proposal crossed protected areas. In a statement released on Monday, the ministry stated that it had chosen to auction 30 immediately in order to maximise chances for the nation.
The DRC now has the second-largest crude oil reserves in Central and Southern Africa, behind Angola, thanks to oil and gas finds in the east of the nation. These reserves are mostly found in the four large lakes that Tanzania, Burundi, Rwanda, and Uganda share borders with.
The DRC may contain up to 30 billion cubic meters of methane and natural gas in the three major petroleum deposits, in addition to sizable recently discovered oil fields. There are roughly 60 billion cubic meters of dissolved methane in the waters of Lake Kivu, which borders Rwanda and Burundi.
