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Page added on August 7, 2014
Israeli Billionaire Finds 3B Barrel Oil Reserve In Congo
An oil company owned by Israeli billionaire Dan Gertler said on Thursday it had discovered around 3 billion barrels of oil in the Democratic Republic of Congo, an amount similar to the proven reserves of oil producers Britain and South Sudan.
The crude was discovered around Lake Albert on Congo’s eastern border with Uganda, Oil of DRCongo said in a statement.
An analysis of seismic survey data “indicates around 3 billion barrels of oil in place”, it said, although it was not yet clear what portion was recoverable.
“These are very positive results from our extensive seismic campaign,” said Giuseppe Ciccarelli, Oil of DRCongo’s CEO. “We continue to believe the project has the potential to provide significant revenues and multiple other benefits to the people of (Congo).”
The nearby Ugandan blocks are estimated to hold a similar amount of oil and are being developed by British company Tullow , France’s Total and China National Offshore Oil Corp (CNOOC).
Oil of DRCongo said it now plans to prepare for the drilling of two exploration wells on the site by building infrastructure and relocating local communities.
Resource-rich Congo produces just 25,000 barrels of oil per day from onshore and offshore fields in western coastal areas and is seeking to increase production dramatically to boost growth and relieve poverty.
Oil made up just 1.7 percent of Congo’s gross domestic product in 2012, according to the International Monetary Fund. Oil of DRCongo said production of 50,000 barrels per day at Lake Albert would expand Congo’s economy by 25 percent.
But industry sources say the volumes should be considered provisional and point to the difficulty of exporting the oil from eastern Congo – a region hundreds of kilometres from export points on the shores of the Indian and Atlantic oceans.
“Seismic estimates still need to be confirmed by a serious drilling campaign and I would not be surprised if the amount is reduced by a significant percentage,” said one source with experience assessing oil exploration projects in Africa.
Risk consultancy Maplecroft’s Ben Payton said oil could, in theory, be exported via a planned pipeline from Uganda to the ocean but added tension between Uganda and Congo made this unlikely.
Lucrative Business?
Oil of DRCongo operates blocks one and two at Lake Albert on behalf of Foxwhelp and Caprikat, both subsidiaries of Gertler’s Netherlands-based company Fleurette which has several interests in Congo’s mining sector.
Campaign groups such as Global Witness say Gertler, an influential figure in Congo with close ties to President Joseph Kabila’s government, received concessions at low prices before selling them on for large profits, particularly in a series of mining deals between 2010 and 2012.
In January, Reuters revealed that Gertler had sold one of his Congo-based oil companies, Nessergy Ltd, to the government for $150 million – 300 times the amount paid for the oil rights.
Gertler, who has joint Israeli and Congolese citizenship and says his firm has invested more than $7 billion in the local economy, vigorously denies receiving favourable deals at knockdown prices.
A spokesman said at the time that the Nessergy rights had dramatically increased in value since they were obtained in 2006, partly due to the discovery of significant nearby oilfields.
11 Comments on "Israeli Billionaire Finds 3B Barrel Oil Reserve In Congo"
bobinget on Thu, 7th Aug 2014 4:50 pm
More on DRC’s oil war:
Those with a taste for detail may cite 27 January 2013 as the day when Barack Obama – without having to say so explicitly – underscored his seriousness to bring the conflict in the Democratic Republic of Congo to an end.
It was that day, asked by a journalist why he hadn’t yet acted to end the ongoing war in Syria, he explained how he personally, morally wrestled with questions about the violence in that county before concluding: “And how do I weigh tens of thousands who have been killed in Syria versus the tens of thousands who are currently being killed in the Congo?”
For those of us who had campaigned for actions to end the Congo conflict, it was an important moment. The loss of human lives in Syria, like in Congo, is an ongoing tragedy. But unlike Syria, where a campaign of indiscriminate bombing has killed more than 140,000 civilians, in Congo the violence is different.
Instead of using explosives, lives are destroyed through a systematic and pervasive use of rape to punish women, humiliate their men, destroy families, displace communities and to send an ominous message to any potential enemies.
Statisticians say Congo’s death toll in the first 10 years of the wars was more than 5.4 million. An estimated 1,100 women are raped every day and 1,500 people die*.
* (in case you are reading too quickly that’s one thousand five hundred killed daily)
Unless something is done to stop this, millions more will die from the ensuing HIV/Aids pandemic, at least partly triggered by the use of rape as a weapon of war.
More on the Guardian:
http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/aug/06/obama-drc-washington-summit-africa
bobinget on Thu, 7th Aug 2014 5:02 pm
Canada’s stock market sits at three month low on news of Ukraine’s phony war.
I’m told by reliable sources, Western Canada, Alberta to be exact there is more oil then in DRC. Plus, it’s already near pipelines and willing buyers. Not ‘stranded’ like that oil in the Democratic Republic of Congo or South Sudan. Best part— apart from a few week-end disagreements there is not much shooting.
ghung on Thu, 7th Aug 2014 6:58 pm
Just for a little context, if they can get all 3 billion barrels, that’s a little over a month of global consumption (unless my math fails me).
Woo hoo!
Beery on Thu, 7th Aug 2014 7:00 pm
3 billion? What’s that, about a month’s worth? And that’s if it’s all recovered. Oh joy, we’re saved!
noobtube on Thu, 7th Aug 2014 7:27 pm
I wonder who is going to get paid… Africans or this scumbag?
Makati1 on Thu, 7th Aug 2014 7:57 pm
“…An analysis of seismic survey data “indicates around 3 billion barrels of oil in place”, it said, although it was not yet clear what portion was recoverable…” If any.
Desperation. Ten years ago this would not have even been mentioned as news, except in the Congo.
Jimmy on Thu, 7th Aug 2014 10:15 pm
Wait for the details….. It’s probably kerogen or some other such crap. Seismic data lol get back to me when you have a few test wells. The. Get back to me when you have a pipeline. Crickets chirping……..
Norm on Fri, 8th Aug 2014 2:21 am
HEY !!! You guys are all so smart,
and i am just so dumb.
SOOO, one of you smart guys post this:
http://mynorthwest.com/11/2581836/Boeing-betting-on-tobacco-as-new-aviation-fuel-source?google_editors_picks=true
It shows that the solution to the energy crisis, is cigarettes!! The trailer trash was right, all along !!
Arthur on Fri, 8th Aug 2014 5:04 am
New slogan: flying is bad for your health.
fred1 on Fri, 8th Aug 2014 6:01 am
Yay this news will keep the sheeple at bay a little while longer
nemteck on Fri, 8th Aug 2014 3:14 pm
bobinget: “Canada’s stock market sits at three month low …” What chart are you reading? That is completely false. TSX May 7: 14,656. Aug 7: 15,196.