Plan by DRC to Auction Oil Drilling Rights in Congo Basin Sparks Concerns in UK

The Congo basin spans the Democratic Republic of Congo as well as Central African Republic, Cameroon, the Republic of Congo, Equatorial Guinea and Gabon. It is home to 10,000 species of tropical plants, some of which are unique to the region, alongside thousands of animal species, including some which are considered endangered.

The Democratic Republic of the Congo has announced its plans to auction permission to extract oil and gas from "16 oil blocks out of the 32 that the country has" on Monday, expanding the auction to some of deposits that overlap the Virunga UNESCO World Heritage site in the Congo Basin - one of the most important wilderness areas left on Earth.

According to the DRC government, the decision is a move by a sovereign state that aims to "reduce the poverty of its population and create a basis for socio-economic growth." The Democratic Republic of the Congo remains one of the world's poorest countries, with the World Bank estimating that about 73% of Congolese (some 60 million people) lived on less than $1.90 a day in 2018.

The African country's hydrocarbons ministry said the sale of oil and gas permits is scheduled for July 28-29, encompassing 27 oil blocks and three gas permits.

However, some UK environmental activists have cast doubts on the DRC decision to encourage oil drilling in the Congo Basin, arguing that it undermines the credibility of the letter of intent signed by Boris Johnson on behalf of the Central African Forest Initiative (Cafi) that included, among other things, a pledge to protect high-value forests and peatlands.

The UK's minister for the international environment Lord Goldsmith has condemned the DRC decision.

“We strongly believe local people need to directly benefit from their forests, and degrading them doesn’t achieve that. We will continue to work with the Democratic Republic of the Congo on solutions to protect this vital ecosystem, and ensure that the commitments on mining, oil and gas sector reform are met,” he stated.

The DRC government has argued that local populations "will benefit during this exploration-production project", touting "several advantages in terms of social interventions," particularly "the construction of schools, roads, etc."

In a lengthy op-ed for The New York Times, Dr. Simon Lewis, a professor of global change science at University College London and the University of Leeds, pointed at how the Congo Basin deposits are "the worst place in the world" to drill oil. He focused on how the region is home to thousands of endangered species as well as millions of people who might potentially suffer due to oil drilling activity; while also pointing out that the Congo Basin "slows climate change by removing 1.5 billion tons of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere each year."

"Oil drilling would be particularly damaging in the peatlands, where everything is connected by water. Oil spills and wastewater from drilling could destroy biodiversity, pollute vast areas and poison the water, fish and other natural resources upon which local people depend," Lewis argued.

According to the DRC hydrocarbons ministry, operators will be bound by the "polluter-pays principle," meaning that there will be "compensations" depending on whether it is "social, economic or ecological".

"Hence a positive impact in the social life of local populations," the ministry asserted.

What is the Congo Basin?

The Congo Basin, where nine of the 16 oil blocks for auction are located, is "one of the most important wilderness areas left on Earth," according to the WWF. It is spread across six countries: Cameroon, Central African Republic, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea and Gabon.

The basin is home to 10, 000 species of tropical plants, forest elephants, chimpanzees, bonobos, and lowland and mountain gorillas as well as 400 other mammal species, in addition to 1,000 species of birds and 700 species of fish.