Photo: President Félix Tshilombo of DR Congo
President Félix Tshilombo of the Democratic Republic of Congo, has invited international investors to come and buy the country’s oil and gas fields.
The country’s Minister of Hydrocarbons, Didier Budimbu, who made this known in an official statement said that the move was aimed at diversifying the country’s economy from mining.
He said that President Tshilombo described the proposed partnership between the government and investors as a win-win situation for all parties and hoped that the oil and gas fields would aid the country’s development.
Budimbu said: “We must no longer be satisfied with celebrating the potential of the DRC but it is up to us to exploit it. After having relied entirely on mining, it is time for us to exploit the hydrocarbon sector.”
“The choice of blocks selected for the first phase of the tender was made on the basis of the best leads and prospects identified in the various sedimentary basins with geological characteristics that offer a very high probability of hydrocarbon accumulation, a guarantee of profitability for future investors.
“This call for tenders is intended to be a public, transparent, impartial, and competitive process that will allow the DRC to establish win-win partnerships in the mutual interest of investors and the Congolese population.”
Media reports said that the government intended to sell 27 oil and three gas blocks with a view to boosting the country’s economy and creating jobs.
The government claimed that the oil blocs have 22 billion barrels of crude oil while the gas fields comprise 66 billion cubic meters of methane gas.
Reports said that the oil and gas fields both contribute about 40 percent to the national budget, while the country’s oil and gas products remain steady at its current global growth.
The bidding process for the oil blocs will last six months while that of the gas field will last three months.
