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The Republic of Congo’s Ministry of Hydrocarbons announced that the upcoming 2025 licensing round will focus on onshore blocks in the country’s continental basin.
The announcement was made on March 25 by Bruno Jean-Richard Itoua, Minister of Hydrocarbons of the Republic of Congo, during a ministerial panel discussion at the inaugural Congo Energy & investment Forum in Brazzaville.
“Our national development plan [aims to] develop the economy, but we cannot start without the development of hydrocarbons. We have no choice but to take care of hydrocarbons to give the country the capacity to develop,” Minister Itoua stated.
During the panel session, Minister Itoua also highlighted the Ministry’s plans to collaborate with oil and gas company Trident Energy to valorize associated gas from the country’s N’Kossa oil field. The Minister announced it will launch an entity to monetize associated gas not used by international oil companies operating in the country as part of a strategy to reach zero flaring by 2030.
Meanwhile, Aimé Sakombi Molendo, Minister of Hydrocarbons of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), announced that the country will hold discussions with the Republic of Congo on March 26 to explore bilateral cooperation and the possibility of co-developing hydrocarbon resources in cross-border basins. This comes as the DRC and Angola are set to kick off discussions with energy major Chevron for the joint development of the common interest zone between the two countries, with a governance agreement having been ratified in December last year.
“We will be discussing with the Republic of Congo bilaterally to see to what extent the two countries can benefit from co-development of our abundant hydrocarbon resources,” Minister Molendo stated.
José Barroso, Secretary of State for Mineral Resources, Petroleum and Gas for Angola, indicated the potential for developing joint projects in the energy sector with both the Republic of Congo and the DRC. Barroso highlighted the need to create the requisite technical conditions to incentivize national companies to participate in their respective markets in the three countries.
“In the pipeline, we have projects that we are discussing amongst ourselves, and in the short future, we will be able to communicate more on this,” Barroso stated.
Meanwhile, Dr. Omar Farouk Ibrahim, Secretary General of the African Petroleum Producers Organization (APPO), discussed the role the upcoming African Energy Bank will have on resource monetization and development in Africa. Spearheaded by APPO and the African Export-Import Bank, the bank aims to facilitate, promote and finance the development of Africa’s oil, gas and energy industries. According to Dr. Farouk, both the bank and the private sector will have an important role to play in ensuring that regional markets move forward and drive cross-border development.
“None of our countries have what it takes to address the challenges of energy by themselves. The African Energy Bank is an example of how Africa wants to be independent and be in control of its resources,” Dr. Farouk stated.
An outline of the Republic of Congo’s 2025 licensing round will be presented during the Congo Energy & Investment Forum.
About the Congo Energy & Investment Forum:
The inaugural Congo Energy & Investment Forum, set for March 24-26, 2025, in Brazzaville, under the highest patronage of President Denis Sassou Nguesso and supported by the Ministry of Hydrocarbons and Société Nationale des Pétroles du Congo, brings together international investors and local stakeholders to explore national and regional energy and infrastructure opportunities.
