New Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) Bid Round set to launch energy boom

DRC is the largest country in Africa by land area, and its enormous estimated energy resources are still largely untapped.

JOHANNESBURG, South Africa, August 15, 2022/ — The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) has opened the door for further development of its energy assets, calling for Expressions Of Interest for the exploration of hydrocarbon resources in several new regions of the country.

The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) has launched the licencing round for 27 oil blocks and 3 gas blocks (Lake Kivu) in the following identified basins: Cuvette Central, Coastal Basin, Lake Tanganyika, Lake Kivu and the Albertine Graben.

The new licensing and exploration opportunities come as major developed countries search for new sources of oil and gas in the face of geopolitical instability caused by supply-chain interruptions and the war in Ukraine.

The Bid Round was launched on 28 July in the DRC capital, and will be extensively promoted at Africa Oil Week, the major international energy conference taking place in Cape Town in October.

“This is the perfect time for the DRC to speed up development of its energy sector,” said Paul Sinclair, VP for Energy, Africa Oil Week. “Energy demand is soaring worldwide, and issuing new licences is a great way for the country to utilise its hydrocarbon resources for the benefit of its people.”

“The 2022 Bid Round launch is a landmark event in the relationship between DRC and AOW, and the enormous development opportunity is sure to cause a stir at the event,” said Sinclair. “We look forward to hosting His Excellency Minister Didier Budimbu Ntubuanga and the DRC delegation at Africa Oil Week 2022.”

DRC is the largest country in Africa by land area, and its enormous estimated energy resources are still largely untapped. The DRC oil ministry says the blocks were chosen “meticulously” (https://bit.ly/3QiJlWp) and take into account the sensitivity of the country’s protected natural areas.  His Excellency Didier Budimbu, Minister of Hydrocarbons announced 3 costal blocks, 9 central bowl blocks, 11 Graben Tanganyika blocks, 4 Albertine Graben blocks and 3 gas blocks will be promoted for the first time at Africa Oil Week. In a private meeting with Mr. Paul Sinclair, VIP Energy at Africa Oil Week it was discussed that Africa Oil Week will support in the global launch of the DRC licencing round in a number of closed door sessions which operators can apply to join at the annual Africa Oil Week Summit. Paul Sinclair added “This is a watershed moment for the DRC and I am personally proud to work directly with the Minister to promote the development of the DRC upstream. His Excellency Didier Ntubuanga has shown great understanding of both the importance of the oil and gas sector to Democratic Republic of Congo`s economic development for its people and the respect we also need to show towards the environment. The strategy to ensure the security of both is gold standard and urge all stakeholders to get behind this opportunity for DRC”

The value of the blocks to be licenced in the DRC licence Round has been estimated to have an initial value to DRC of approximately round $650-million (https://bloom.bg/3Ql47EO) which will contribute to the development of the national agenda that will positively impact the people of DRC.

According (https://bit.ly/3QrIumf) to Hon Minister Didier Budimbu, the four blocks along the Tanganyika valley are forecast to have 7.25 billion barrels of reserves, while the nine offered in Cuvette Centrale have an estimated 6.4 billion barrels. The Ndunda block near the Atlantic coast has an estimated 130 million barrels, while Nganzi potentially has 2 billion barrels, and Yema/Matamba-Makanzi 800 million barrels.

Once Expressions of Interest have been submitted, only registered, pre-qualified companies will be able to bid.