The Republic of Congo is on its march towards increasing oil production with the discovery of oil in the northern part of the country. The discovery was made by two oil companies engaged in the exploration. The discovery of onshore oil findings, experts say, will help the country to increase the oil production at least by four-fold. The Delta de la Cuvette (area where oil deposits were discovered) has a deposit, covering over an area of 9,392 square meters. Four wells were drilled and the drilling in the first well was going on since March this year. African Society for Petroleum Research and Distribution (SARPD-oil) and the PEPA company are in charge of the operations. These oil wells together have a deposit of 359 million barrels of oil. That will work out to 983,000 barrels per day as against 350,000 currently. The two wells are owned by Claude Wilfrid Etoka, a Congolese businessman, and a business associate to the Congolese government. The estimated deposit could produce over one billion cubic meters of hydrocarbons, including 359 million barrels of oil.
Congo emerged as a significant oil producer in 1970’s. The production picked up during the 1990s. However, oil production dipped in the early part of the century since the deposits in the existing wells depleted and the country did not make any serious effort to explore new oil fields. However, the oil production picked up on account of the discovery of many new wells offshore. The Republic of Congo is the fifth-largest oil producer in Sub-Saharan Africa. The new discovery will help the country to move up in the ladder and improve its foreign exchange position. The oil industry is in the hands of foreign companies and is mainly located in the coastal city of Pointe-Noire. Like any other oil-producing country in Africa, ROC also does not have adequate refining capacity with the results that crude is exported denying the country the benefit of value addition.
