27 oil and three gas fields up for sale from July 28
Greenpeace — a global non-profit working for environmental issues — has urged major oil and gas companies to sit out a huge auction of oil blocks in Democratic Republic of Congo at the end of July, calling it a “carbon bomb”.
The auction will cover 27 oil and three gas fields, announced Congo’s hydrocarbons minister, Didier Budimbu, July 18, 2022.
In a letter to oil and gas companies in Africa, Europe and the US, Greenpeace warned against the “ominous” auction, starting July 28, at the expense of biodiversity and global climate.
According to the environmental NGO, at least nine of these blocks overlap with protected natural areas. The gas fields are also located in the Congo Basin forest.
The oil blocks also overlap carbon-rich peatlands in the the west African country — an area activists describe as a “carbon bomb”. If these peatlands are disturbed, large quantities of carbon dioxide could be released.
The Congo government gave the project the go-ahead in April 2022, allowing the sale of 240,000 square kilometres of oil refineries. It has now added 11 more oil blocks to the auction.
The decision has come just five months after the signing of a $500 million deal at the COP26 to help protect Congo’s forests.
Budimbu told Financial Times daily that the country had “no choice” but to increase the number of oil exploration blocks from 16 to 27.
The minister said that United States president Joe Biden had urged the kingdom to pump more oil.
“We have the right to benefit from our natural wealth”, Budimbu told FT, arguing that income from the sale of the blocks could go towards building new schools, motorways and hospitals.
Greenpeace said the auction made a mockery of Congo’s posturing to solve the climate crisis.
“The sale exposes Congolese people to corruption, violence, and poverty that inevitably come with the curse of oil, as well as more heat waves and less rains for all Africans,” said Irene Wabiwa, international project lead for the Congo forest campaign at Greenpeace Africa.
The non-profit said that official maps show that nine oil and gas blocks to be auctioned lie in protected areas, contrary to Budimbu’s claims. He had acknowledged his miscommunication on June 13 as well, it claimed.
The number of blocks overlapping protected areas may now be as high as 12 following the augmentation.
Greenpeace has also collected testimonies from local communities that opposed the auction.
The international community and the Congolese government must end the neocolonial scramble for African fossil fuels by restricting oil companies’ access to Congo, added Wabiwa.
“Instead, we must focus on ending energy poverty through supporting clean, decentralised renewable energies,” she said.
We are a voice to you; you have been a support to us. Together we build journalism that is independent, credible and fearless. You can further help us by making a donation. This will mean a lot for our ability to bring you news, perspectives and analysis from the ground so that we can make change together.
.png)
Comments are moderated and will be published only after the site moderator’s approval. Please use a genuine email ID and provide your name. Selected comments may also be used in the ‘Letters’ section of the Down To Earth print edition.