Middle East / Africa

Country profile: Congo (Democratic Rep.)

Location:

Central Africa, northeast of Angola ,0

Climate:

tropical; hot and humid in equatorial river basin; cooler and drier in southern highlands; cooler and wetter in eastern highlands; north of Equator - wet season (April to October), dry season (December to February); south of Equator - wet season (November to March), dry season (April to October)

Terrain:

vast central basin is a low-lying plateau; mountains in east

Size:

2345410 sq. km total (Land area: 2267600 sq. km Water area: 77810 sq.km)

Population:

66,514,506

Languages:

French (official), Lingala (a lingua franca trade language), Kingwana (a dialect of Kiswahili or Swahili), Kikongo, Tshiluba

Government:

republic

Capital city:

Kinshasa

Legal system:

a new constitution was adopted by referendum 18 December 2005; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction, with reservations

Currency:

Congolese franc (CDF)

Licensing:

Country profile

Congo started production in 1957 from the onshore Pointe Indienne field. In the 10 years between 1988 and 1998, the Congo's crude production almost doubled from 144,000 bpd to 265,000 bpd. Most of Congo's crude production is located offshore and is highly reliant on foreign personnel and technology. Elf and Agip are the largest and second largest concessionaires in the Congo respectively.

According to reports in mid 2000, annual production in 2000 is expected to reach 14 million tons of crude (approximately 280 million barrels per day). The addition of the Bilondo, Libonolo, Moho, Foukanda and Mwafi fields is likely to increase the annual production to 20 million tons per year (approximately 400 million barrels per day). Congo's production for December 1999 was estimated at 270,000 bpd. Contribution was from Agip's Kitina, Loanga and Zatchi fields and Elf's N'Kossa and Tchibouela fields.

Elf Congo plans to bring the Moho Marine oil field, located in Haute Mer on stream in 2001. This is likely to be via a subsea tie back to N'Kossa production facilities. Reserves have been estimated at between 400 and 600 million barrels of oil. Initial production rates are to be of the order of 50,000 bpd increasing to peak production of 150,000 bpd. Albian and Miocene reservoir itnervals were tested at commercial rates. The N'Kossa facilities are also to be used to process production from N'Kossa Sud (estimated 40 million barrels of oil).

Elf has many smaller fields located on the old Pointe-Noire Grande Fonds (PNGF) concession, of which Tchibouela, Sendji, Yanga, Tchendo, Emeraude and Likouala have been brought into production. In September 1999, Likalala Marine (20 million barrels) and Kombi Marine (30 million barrels) came onstream. Elf plans to develop other smaller fields Libondo, Tchibeli, Litanzi and Yanga-Sud. Production should begin on all these fields by 2004. Total development costs are likely to be of the order of US$ 240 million. Elf's 1999 production amounted to 160,000 barrels of oil equivalent coming mainly from N'Kossa and Tchibouela fields.

Maurel and Prom plan to put the onshore Kouakouala field on limited production in 2000. The crude will be trucked to the export terminal or to the Coraf refinery in Pointe Noire. The field is estimated to contain between 8 and 30 million barrels of oil. Appraisal and development drilling is planned for the year 2000. Transporting the oil is problematic as the road between the field and Pointe Noire requires upgrading. There is a possibility that an export pipeline might be constructed.

The Kitina-Sud field is located on the Marine VII permit and Agip plans to use existing facilities at the Kitina field to process production. Agip is also the operator of the Loango, Zatchi, and Kitina fields. Production began on Kitina in 1997 and average production is now 60,000 bpd. The estimated recoverable reserves are 145 million barrels of oil.

CMS Nomeco has operated the offshore Yombo field since 1994, and produces approximately 15,000 bpd from 18 wells located on the field.

The Southern African Development Coordination Conference (SADCC), which evolved into the Southern African Development Community (SADC) , has been in existence since 1980. The original nine member-countries were Angola , Botswana, Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique, Swaziland, Tanzania, Zambia, and Zimbabwe. South Africa joined SADC in 1994 followed by Mauritius (1995), and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC, 1997). In 2005, SADC granted Madagascar membership. In addition to belonging to SADC, Angola, DRC, Madagascar, Malawi, Mauritius, Swaziland, Zambia and Zimbabwe are members of the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA).

In order to facilitate development in the region, member-states in SADC formulated various objectives which the community works to achieve. Among those objectives are the promotion of regional economic integration, creation of intra-governmental policies, and sustainable utilization of natural resources. In addition to the broader objectives of SADC, the region’s Trade Protocol calls for member-states to further liberalize intra-regional trade, while eliminating trade barriers in order to establish a Free Trade Area (FTA) by 2008. The creation of the FTA is part of a strategic plan announced by the SADC executive secretary in 2004, which also includes the establishment of an SADC customs union by 2010, a common market pact by 2012, and establishment of an SADC central bank and preparation for a single SADC currency by 2016.

ECONOMIC OVERVIEW

In 2005, the combined Gross Domestic Product (GDP) for SADC was approximately $330.1 billion (see Table 1 ). South Africa, the region's most developed economy, had GDP of $239.4 billion, which is more than double the combined GDP of other SADC countries. In 2005, GDP growth rates in SADC ranged from -10.3 percent (Zimbabwe) to 15.9 percent (Angola), while the weighted average GDP growth rate was 5.7 percent in the region. Poverty is one of the major challenges facing SADC, with 70 percent of the population living on less than $2 per day.

ENERGY OVERVIEW

The SADC Energy Protocol outlines the various principles and objectives that the region has towards energy. Chief among those is SADC’s desire to use energy to support economic growth and development in the region. Overall, SADC is a net energy exporter. In 2003, the countries belonging to SADC collectively consumed (see Table 2 ) 5.9 quadrillion British thermal units (Btu) (1.4 percent of total world consumption) and produced 8.5 quadrillion Btu (2.0 percent of total world production). The region's dominant economy, South Africa , accounted for 83 percent (4.9 quadrillion Btu) of the region's energy consumption, 69.8 percent (5.9 quadrillion Btu) of its energy production, and 88.8 percent (112 million metric tons) of its CO 2 emissions .

Throughout the region there are significant reserves of coal, petroleum, and natural gas. Electricity in SADC is generated mainly through thermal or hydroelectric resources. Natural gas is becoming more significant to the region's energy sector as Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa and Tanzania develop natural gas fields in their respective countries. Due to the region's relatively small urban population (approximately 25.4 percent), access to commercial energy sources is limited. The majority of SADC's population still relies on the use of biofuel as its primary source of energy.

Energy production and consumption

Oil

Gas

Production:

NaN

Consumption:

NaN

Exports:

NaN

Imports:

NaN

Reserves:

NaN

Major fields:

Congo (Democratic Rep.) - recent news

22 May 24	DRC: Perenco subsidiary MIOC undertakes active drilling campaign offshore DRC Muanda International Oil Company ('MIOC'), Perenco’s offshore DRC subsidiary, has announced that it has drilled two exploration wells to date in 2024, making the first exploration discovery offshore DRC in almost thirty years. The Nuada rig has now spud the first of twelve wells on the GCO field, as part of MIOC’s continuing development drilling campaign offshore DRC.
21 Jul 22	Congo (DRC): Congo to offer 30 oil and gas blocks for licensing The Democratic Republic of Congo will offer 27 oil blocks and three gas blocks, nearly double as many as previously planned, in a licensing round next week, the hydrocarbons ministry has announced.
27 Oct 21	Congo DR: INPEX sells interest in Offshore D. R. Congo Block to Perenco INPEX has sold all its shares in Teikoku Oil (D.R. Congo), a subsidiary, to Perenco Energies International, thereby divesting all its interests in the Offshore D. R. Congo Block.
21 Jun 21	Congo (DRC): Congo ends oil production-sharing agreements with Israeli investor Gertler Democratic Republic of Congo has ended production-sharing agreements for Blocks 1 and 2 granted to Israeli investor Dan Gertler's Foxwhelp and Caprikat in 2010 for Blocks 1 and 2 near the Ugandan border.
07 Apr 19	Congo (DRC): Democratic Republic of Congo plans oil licensing round this year Democratic Republic of Congo plans to launch a licensing round this year for more than 20 onshore oil and gas blocks, the oil ministry said on Friday, its first since adopting a new hydrocarbons code in 2015.