The hydrocarbons ministry announced on Monday that the Democratic Republic of the Congo has granted licenses to three natural gas blocks in Lake Kivu on its eastern border, with some production likely to begin as early as next year.
According to the ministry, RED, a regional affiliate of Symbion Power, a company based in the United States, received the Makelele block. Another American business, Winds Exploration and Production LLC, received the Idjwi block. The winner of the Lwandjofu block was Alfajiri Energy of Canada.
The production-sharing contracts will be signed within 15 days, hydrocarbons minister Didier Budimbu told Reuters. He said he hoped the Symbion Power block would begin producing in 2024.
Congo is hoping to emulate neighboring Rwanda and use vast amounts of methane underneath the lake to generate electricity that can be used to burn fertilizer and manufacture cement. It could also be used for household cooking.
Symbion Power’s chief executive officer, Paul Hinks, told Reuters that production next year could be possible “if everything goes well.”
He said the process required tapping gas that is saturated in lake water more than 400 meters below the surface.
A licensing round that featured 27 onshore oil blocks also included an auction for the gas block. Environmental concerns were raised since several of the oil blocks were located in the Congo’s peatlands and rainforest.
According to Budimbu, the oil block tender was scheduled to finish on January 29, but he was thinking about extending it to allow for the allocation of additional blocks.
