''A Lake of Oil - Congo's controversial contracts compromise rights, environment
& safety''
[3] PLATFORM's analysis compares revenues delivered by two competing contracts, revealing that:
In ''A Lake of Oil", PLATFORM also raises concerns about:
Alfred Buju, head of the Justice and Peace Commission in Ituri, DRC, at the heart of Exploration Block 2, said:
''This report reveals the contracts that will affect our communities and raises
serious concerns about who will benefit from oil extraction in Ituri. We need
the government and international companies to be honest and clear - will our
environment be protected? The history of natural resources in eastern DRC makes
us worry that oil will lead to more conflict.''
PLATFORM Campaigner Mika Minio said,
''The reality is that extracting Congolese crude will escalate resource wars,
transfer wealth from Congo's poorest to London's richest, create new health
problems for local communities, increase corruption and pollute the land, water
and air. It is up to social movements and civil society to create the pressure
to defend rights, livelihoods and Uganda's rich environment."
NOTE 1:
The analysis was carried out by PLATFORM, in partnership with the African Institute for Energy Governance
The report is available at http://www.carbonweb.org/drc
NOTE 2:
The Congolese blocks on Lake Albert are widely assumed to hold large reserves of crude oil, following Tullow and Heritage's major discoveries on the adjoining blocks on the Ugandan side of the border. See http://www.carbonweb.org/uganda/
NOTE 3:
PLATFORM has obtained and released copies of Tullow/Heritage’s 2006 PSA for Blocks 1 & 2 and Divine Inspiration/H Oil's 2008 PSA for Block 1, on Lake Albert. The 2006 contract is disputed by both sides since the Congolese Ministry of Energy appeared to annul it in October 2007, prior to reassigning Block 1 to the Divine Inspiration consortium in 2008. The Congolese government has expressed a desire to finalise the status of contracts and begin exploration during 2010.