AfrOil: DR Congo rejects US request to scale back onshore licensing round

The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) has rejected a request from US climate envoy John Kerry to reduce the number of blocks included in its current onshore licensing round from 30 to 24, Environment Minister Eve Bazaiba revealed on October 5.

According to Bazaiba, Kerry made the request at a meeting with the DRC’s President Felix Tshisekedi on October 4, arguing that preventing oil and gas exploration at those blocks was necessary to protect forests. Tshisekedi replied by saying that Kinshasa had the right to develop its own resources and would take measures to protect the environment, she told Bloomberg.

The minister also informed Reuters in a separate interview that the president had not agreed with Kerry’s contention that the blocks ought to remain untouched because they encroached upon the Virunga National Park and peat bogs that act as a carbon dioxide sink. The DRC has come to different conclusions after investigating the matter, she declared.