The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) is finalising an agreement with neighbour Angola and oil company Chevron over an offshore oil block, reported Reuters, citing the DRC’s Oil Minister Didier Budimbu.
The accord could provide a resolution for the 50-year dispute over offshore oil blocks between the two African nations.
In an interview with the news agency, Budimbu said the production-sharing deal proposed by Angola and Chevron envisions that the two African countries will acquire a 30% stake in block 14.
The remaining 40% stake will be held by US energy giant Chevron, which will be the operator of the block.
“We are due to meet again very soon and things can move very quickly,” Budimbu was quoted by the news agency as saying.
He added that talks were still ongoing for the additional blocks that span both the countries’ Atlantic coasts.
Angola has held control of the disputed blocks.
According to Budimbu, under the terms of the deal, Sonangol, the state-owned oil company of Angola, would write off a $200m debt that Sonahydroc, the state owned oil company of the DRC, owes Sonangol.
Requests for comment from Sonangol and Chevron went unanswered, reported the news agency.
Late last month, media reports emerged that Chevron started the process of selling its assets in the DRC as part of efforts to reduce legacy assets to focus on low-emission and low-cost projects. The assets up for sale could be valued at $1.5bn.
