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The
auction for the sites, known as oil blocks, was initially
launched two years ago but was called off after it failed to
achieve the expected success and a new auction will be held,
said oil minister Aimé Sakombi Molendo in a statement. He gave
no details about timing or the number of blocks to be put up for
bidding in future.
The 27 oil blocks canceled auction hold an estimated 22 billion
barrels.
Congo, a mineral-rich nation in central Africa, is thought to
have significant oil reserves but drilling has so far been
confined to a small territory on the Atlantic Ocean and
offshore.
That was expected to change with the auction.
Environmental agencies have sounded the alarm since Congo
launched the auction in July 2022, saying that auctioning more
land to drill would have consequences both in Congo and abroad.
Congo is home to most of the Congo Basin rainforest, the world’s
second-biggest, and most of the world’s largest tropical
peatland, made up of partially decomposed wetland plant
material.
Together, both capture huge amounts of carbon dioxide — about
1.5 billion tons a year, or about 3% of global emissions. More
than a dozen of the plots up for auction overlap with protected
areas in peatlands and rainforests, including the Virunga
National Park, which is home to some of the world’s rarest
gorillas.
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