Infrastructural and environmental challenges and concerns in the burgeoning oil and gas industry in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) will be discussed and addressed during the upcoming of iPAD DRC Oil & Gas Forum in Kinshasa from 10-11 September. The Democratic Republic of Congo’s Minister of Hydrocarbons, HE Crispin Atama Tabe, is heading up a high-level line-up of government and industry expert speakers at the event.
The DRC is considered to hold considerable crude oil reserves. These are mainly located in Bas-Congo, along its Atlantic Ocean coastline, the Central Basin, the Albertine Graben and the Tanganyika Graben.
Potential of DRC’s oil reserves
Says Nicole Smith, the IPAD DRC Oil & Gas Forum event director: “DRC’s current production is about 25 000 barrels per day but given the potential of the reserves we can expect this production to reach 100 000. It has the potential to contribute to half of DRC’s GDP by the end of 2016. Since the oil sector in DRC is still an emerging market, the development of pipelines and refineries must be integrated into the strategies of both government and investors if the country wants to follow the path of industrialisation. In order to do so, companies need to integrate a viable system of distribution and transportation for hydrocarbons products.”
She continues: “furthermore, the recent exploration activities raised concerns from an environmental point of view, which brought a bit of reluctance to go forward on many projects. Our exclusive session on social and environmental management will focus on this aspect and our speakers will give the audience the tools and skills to understand the issues and the solutions provided to benefit from these precious resources under the best conditions.”
The iPAD DRC Oil & Gas Forum downstream programme highlights include:
• Infrastructure development for exploration and production in Central Africa Region
Chairman: Hydrocarbons Expert, DRC:
Kalema Losona, Honorary Minister of Hydrocarbons
o Trans-borders cooperation and pipelines development: the CRX project
Chevron, USA: Andrew Mingst, Commercial Director
o What are the strategies to evacuate and transport the oil produced in Grabens Albertine and Tanganyika?
Ministry of Hydrocarbons, DRC
• Development of the refining and distribution petroleum industry
Chairman: Ministry of Hydrocarbons, DRC:
Désiré Masuka Ngoy, Secretary General
Panellists:
– National Railway Society of Congo (SNCC), DRC: Romain Nawezi, Sales Director
– SEP Congo, DRC: Georges Cevalte, Director
– National Petroleum Committee, DRC: Célestin Kanku, Chairman
High-level government and industry buy-in
The event enjoys the official support of the DRC’s Ministry of Hydrocarbons and industry stalwarts Perenco Rep and Mico, Chevron, Baker Hughes, Clarke Energy, Schlumberger and Cohydro have also confirmed their presence at the forum.
