DRC and Angola Finally Reach Agreement on Oil Exploitation After 16 Years
An agreement on the exploitation of oil, in the maritime zone of common interest (ZIC), was signed last Thursday, July 13 between the Democratic Republic of Congo and the Republic of Angola in Kinshasa, capital of the Democratic Republic of Congo.
By signing this agreement 16 years after the Memorandum of Understanding of July 30, 2007, the two Ministers of Hydrocarbons Didier Budimbu and his counterpart from Angola Diamantino Pedro Azevedo have given concrete form to the will of two Heads of State of their respective countries.
“My thanks go to His Excellency Mr. Felix-Antoine TSHISEKEDI TSHILOMBO, President of the Democratic Republic of Congo and Head of State, for his clear economic and strategic vision for the DRC, as well as his determination to bring the project to fruition. of the ZIC which, to date, is moving in the right direction towards its culmination, if not its concretization 16 years after the signing on July 30, 2007, of the Memorandum of Understanding relating to the Exploration and Production of hydrocarbons in the Maritime Zone of Interest Common (ZIC). May he receive the expression of our most respectful homage.
Our gratitude also goes to the Angolan President, His Excellency Mr. JOÃO MANUEL GONÇALVES LOURENÇO who through His Excellency Dr. DIAMANTINO PEDRO AZEVEDO, Minister of Mineral Resources,
According to him, this agreement allows the two countries to share revenues equally.
“The agreement which we expect to be signed today binds us as ‘Concessionaire’ and paves the way for the negotiations of the PSC with the Group of contractors led by Chevron for the purpose of signing the Production Sharing Contract.
In this agreement, the Democratic Republic of Congo and the sister Republic of Angola become “concessionaire” and co-owners of the rights over the maritime zone of common interest; for this purpose will share equally the income from the rights and obligations retained for the concessionary party.
It should be noted that the operationalization of this maritime Zone of Common Interest is part of the expectations of our two States because it strengthens our respective portfolios”, he explained.
Signed on July 30, 2007, in Luanda, capital of Angola, the agreement on the ZIC has as its main objective “the joint exploitation of hydrocarbons without prejudice to the delimitation of the maritime borders between the two countries”.
The DRC and Angola have multiplied, in recent years, meetings to try to achieve the implementation of the maritime zone of common interest (ZIC) whose agreement dates back to 2007. The signing of this agreement comes after several bilateral meetings in Kinshasa as well as in Luanda.
