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Congo-Brazzaville: the curse of the black gold
Oil in Congo represents 60% of GDP and over 85% of its export incomes.
Stalled in the late 90s, production has been revived in 2004 with the discovery of new oilfields. With over 100 million barrels per year in 2009, the country is ranked 39 among the world producers, the sixth largest producer in Central Africa, after Nigeria, Angola, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon and the Democratic Republic of Congo.
Repeatedly criticised for their opaque management of oil revenues, the Congolese authorities have announced their membership in 2004, to the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI). Wood is the second natural resource of the country. More than half of the area – 342,000 km2 – is covered by forests.
Unfortunately, the population does not benefit from the incomes generated by oil and forestry sectors. The two thirds of the 4 million Congolese are still living below the poverty level. This reality is an illustration of the “paradox of abundance”: the oil wealth had always financed and fuelled many civil wars. It had contributed to more poverty of the population rather than eradicating it. And the best evidence of this situation is the external debt ($ 1.9 billion) that has finally been cleared in January 2010, after six years of tough negotiations within the framework of the highly indebted poor countries program (HIPC).