Angola and DRC to Become Joint Holders of Offshore Block 14
The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) is in the process of finalizing an agreement with Angola and oil and gas major Chevron, concerning offshore Block 14, which was previously a subject of dispute. Under the agreement, both countries would become joint holders of the block.
“We are due to meet again very soon, and things can move very quickly,” stated the DRC’s Minister of Hydrocarbons Didier Budimbu Ntubuanga, adding that conversations were still ongoing with regards to further blocks that cross both nations’ borders on the Atlantic coast.
According to Minister Ntubuanga, and under the terms of the deal, Angola’s National Oil Company (NOC) Sonangol will write off a debt of $200 million that the DRC’s NOC Sonahydroc owes to the Angolan parastatal.
Poised to abate a 50-year dispute over the offshore oil blocks between the two African nations, the production sharing agreement comes as part of an array of collaborative agreements between Angola and the DRC.
In an effort to improve mobility, officials from the DRC and Angola will no longer require visas to travel between the two countries.
The two nations have begun the process of finalizing cooperation agreements in the fields of tourism, women empowerment, forestry, wildlife, small- and medium-sized enterprises, construction, urban planning, and housing.
