The Congolese oil… the manna coveted

By African Bulletin on April 27, 2011

If yesterday, the Congolese oil basins were the agents’ and other intermediaries’ case and business; but today, it is no longer the case.

Majors of the world oil industry woke up and they are knocking at the DRC gate to share this windfall. The first major oil company, announcing its intentions, is the Italian ENI. The French oil company Total, which is already present in the distribution, also aspires to go into production. As for the American Exxon, which is looking out also for opportunities, as reported by the Africa Energy Intelligence.   ENI has been negotiating for weeks with the Congolese government to round up seven blocks in the Rift Valley, Tanganyika and the Central Basin. The arrival of major oil actors such as Total and ENI appears to reflect the government’s desire to maximize the exploitation of the oil sector. However, doubt remains about the translation in the proceedings of this new policy, announced by the President of the Republic, in December 2010: “The DRC should be more open to larger companies instead of smaller companies without resources”. While awaiting for the outcome of discussions, ENI, which already operates in the Lower Congo since 2010, is willing to spend 200 million U.S dollars over the coming five years, and as “to hit two birds with one stone”, ENI also made an offer to the Tanzania Petroleum Development Corp (TPDC) to operate the Northern block of Tanganyika, on the Tanzanian side of the lake, where it competes with the Tullow Oil. These contracts, being negotiated about the Congolese Oil are worth billions of dollars, and are of great deals and bids.  From the Atlantic Ocean to the hills of the East, through the central basin, the Congolese oil is the subject of much envy. With Angola, the dispute over the Congolese shelf is far from being settled, and most recently, the National Assembly of Congo Brazzaville adopted a law authorizing the ratification of a Memorandum of a joint-Cooperation Agreement to operate the sedimentary basin that stretches along the banks of the Congo and Ubangi Rivers. If this protocol will allow both states to jointly develop and operate, without major incident, the oil fields of the Congo Basin, it is not yet the case in Eastern DRC, where no formal agreement has been reached with the neighboring Uganda and Tanzania.