NGO’S call on govt to proceed with transparent call for tenders of oil blocks taken over by Dan Gertler- DRC
Congolese economic news remains marked by the expiration of research permits for blocks 1 and 2 of the Graben Albertine, which had been granted in 2011 in an opaque manner, according to civil society, to companies affiliated with Dan Gertler. The letter from Didier Budimbu, Ministry of Hydrocarbons, is clear: the end of the production sharing contract has been noted. The party Dan Gertler was even asked to transmit to the Congolese government all the exploration results made on the two blocks.
It is also the result of advocacy led by civil society. Several NGOs called on the government to apply the Hydrocarbons Code with regard to the assets attributed to Dan Gertler’s companies in congestion with the Congolese state. For civil society, particularly the member organizations of the Congo Is Not For Sale Campaign, the Production Sharing Contract violated several provisions for years.
To avoid falling into the same mistakes, “The Congo is not for sale campaign recommends that the Government of the DRC strictly respect the law in the event of any reallocation of the said oil blocks”.
According to her, the mistakes that the previous regime caused the country to lose not only significant expected revenues, but also its credibility in the process of granting oil blocks.
Organizations such as ODEP, CdC / RN, OEARSE, ODEP, AFREWATCH, RESOURCE MATTERS, NEW CONGO, UNIS recall that the law requires a transparent and competitive call for tenders for the granting of said blocks.
“The government should also study beforehand the international situation of the oil sector, at a time when the world economy has embarked on one of the greatest energy transitions in history.”
Civil society is asking the government to be vigilant. The areas affected by these oil assets, on the border with Uganda, contain, according to experts’ estimates, more than a billion barrels of oil.
