Takeaways from AP visit to Congo as nation offers expanded oil drilling
The central African nation of Congo is looking to expand oil and gas drilling by auctioning off 30 sites around the country
MOANDA, Congo — The central African nation of Congo is offering 30 oil and gas blocks around the country for auction. It's a prospect that concerns environmentalists and some of the people who live near the drilling that has so far been limited to a small area near its far western border on the Atlantic Ocean.
The Associated Press visited Moanda territory, including two villages near drilling sites, and heard from residents who said air and ground pollution has hurt their crops and caused health problems. They say Perenco, the French-British company that began drilling in 2000, has failed to address those problems, and advocacy groups say they want to see changes before drilling expands.
Perenco disputes any problems.
Some takeaways from AP's visit:
Congo is a mineral-rich nation, but little of that wealth has trickled down to ordinary citizens. Longstanding issues of corruption get part of the blame. More than 60% of Congo's 100 million people get by on less than $2.15 a day, according to the World Bank.
Congo's leaders argue that's one reason that drilling should be expanded — to contribute to economic growth. The sites up for auction contain an estimated 22 billion barrels of oil.
Congo's treasures go beyond what can be mined or drilled. It's home to most of the Congo Basin rainforest, the world’s second-largest, and most of the world’s largest tropical peatland, made up of partially decomposed wetlands plant material. Together, both capture huge amounts of carbon dioxide — about 1.5 billion tons a year, or about 3% of global emissions.
More than a dozen of the plots up for auction overlap with
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