KINSHASA, DR Congo
The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) has cancelled the auction of 27 sites earmarked for oil exploration, its government said, citing late bids and a lack of competition.
The auction of
these sites, known as oil blocks, was launched two years ago but
was cancelled because it was not as successful as expected and a new auction
will be held, Oil Minister Aime Sakombi Molendo said in a statement.
He gave no details on the timetable or the number of blocks that will be
auctioned.
The 27 oil blocks whose
auction was cancelled contain an estimated 22 billion barrels of oil.
The mineral-rich central
African country of the Democratic Republic of the Congo is believed to have
significant oil reserves. Still, drilling has been limited to a small
area on the Atlantic Ocean and offshore.
The auction is expected to be
a game changer.
Environmental agencies have
been sounding the alarm since the DRC launched the auction in July 2022, saying
auctioning off more land for drilling would have consequences both in the DRC
and abroad.
The DRC is home to most of the
Congo Basin rainforest, the second largest in the world, and most of the
world's largest tropical peatland, composed of partially decomposed plant
material from wetlands.
Together, they 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 auctioned plots straddle
protected areas of peatlands and rainforests, including Virunga National
Park, home to some of the world’s rarest gorillas.
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