DR Congo puts up oil and gas fields for sale, invites Nigerians, others

The President of the Democratic Republic of Congo, Félix Tshilombo, has invited international investors to tender bids for the country’s oil and gas blocs as the government moves to diversify its economy from mining.

In a statement sent to Ripples Nigeria on Friday, the government put up 27 oil blocks and three gas blocks for private investment to boost the country’s economy and create thousands of jobs.

The oil blocs have 22 billion barrels of crude oil while the gas fields comprise 66 billion cubic meters of methane gas – with both contributing about 40 percent to the national budget.

The projection followed reports that 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 the process for the gas field has a three-month timeframe.

President Tshilombo said the oil and gas fields would aid the country’s development.

READ ASLO: DR Congo rebels kill 14 in refugee camp attack

He 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 country’s Minister of Hydrocarbons, Didier Budimbu, who spoke on the development, described the partnership between the government and investors as a win-win situation for all parties.

Budimbu said: “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.”

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