With Congo pumping out an estimated 300,000 bbl of oil per day, this industry plays the key part in the Congolese economy and politics.

Will post news and updates in this thread

Angola and Congo to Explore Oil in Common Areas
Soyo — The Minister of Petroleum, Botelho de Vasconcelos, said on Wednesday in Soyo district in the northern Zaire province that Angola and Congo Brazzaville will jointly explore oil in common interest areas by 2013.

Botelho de Vasconcelos, who is leading a technical commission of his ministry, said to the local press that he will discuss with the Hydrocarbon Minister of Congo Brazzaville other details related to the materialisation of the process.

"We have been holding semester meetings, whose results will surely be visible as from 2013. We will jointly be producing oil in common interest areas", said the minister.

The official also said that negotiations are dated for a year due to the oil potential in some common interest zones between Angola and Congo Brazzaville.

According to him, the meeting with his Congolese counterpart is also aimed at analysing the works development underway and approving the budget of the project economic investments.

The minister said that the two ministries expect to sign accords in the supervision and commercial fields, by considering them as important tools for the intended co-operation between both countries.

The Hydrocarbon Minister of Congo Brazzaville is expected to arrive on Thursday in Soyo city with a technical commission, too.

During their two-day stay in Soyo district, both ministers will also visit Angola LNG project, which is in its production and testing phase, as well as they will visit Kwanda base that support oil production operations in the Angolan on-shore and off-shore.

Congolese Minister Praises Nation's InvestmentsSoyo — The Hydrocarbon Minister of Congo Brazzaville, Luemba André Raphael, encouraged on Thursday the Angolan government to continue to invest in oil sector, whose impact leads to the modernisation of the country and African continent.

The Congolese official said so to the press on Friday after visiting with his Angolan counterpart, Botelho de Vasconcelos, the Angola LNG project and Kwanda oil base.

Luemba Raphael said that these projects are aimed at modernising Angola and Africa and eradicate poverty, and therefore they should be encouraged.

He recognised that the Angolan government is developing the necessary effort to valorise the national resources of the country.

Luemba André Raphael thanked the Angolan executive for having hosted 16th interstate meeting of the utilisation zone of Lianzi, which he attended.

Congo non-oil revenues up, crude output seen slipping

BRAZZAVILLE (Reuters) - The Republic of Congo's non-crude revenues rose 25 percent to 500 billion CFA Francs in the first-half of the year, Congo's president Denis Sassou N'Guesso said on Friday, adding the economy needed to ease its reliance on an oil industry poised for decline.

"The greatest weakness of our economy, we all know, is that it is driven primarily by oil, which represent over 90 percent of exports and 85 percent of revenues," he told parliament in a state of the nation address.

"Caution requires us not to continue to put all our eggs in one oil basket, thus, the vital need to diversify our economy by rapidly expanding other areas," N'Guesso added.

N'Guesso said the government was spending 1 trillion CFA Francs for public investments this year on infrastructure and industries, which would create opportunities and diversify its economy to other sectors such as agriculture and forestry, which saw an increase in exports during the year.

N'Guesso said Congo's agro-industry sector will contribute about 9 percent to the country's economy this year. He added that the country's dozens of new investment projects would create between 27,000 and 30,000 jobs, with another 16,000 jobs expected in the mining and timber transformation sectors.

One of the few countries in sub-Saharan African with a Eurobond - a $478 million 2029 Eurobond -- authorities expect Congo's economy to grow by 6.7 percent this year, a figure revised down from 9.1 percent following a fall in oil production.

Government budget projections in October expected oil production to rise about 2 percent in 2011 to 348,000 barrels per day, while the International Monetary Fund, said it expected oil production to peak at 370,000 bpd in 2012.

"Our oil production could start to decline starting in 2012," N'Guesso said in his speech, broadcast on state television.

Congo's oilfields are operated by a dozen companies including Total, Murphy and ENI.reuters

^^Oil represents over 90 percent of exports and 85 percent of state revenues? This economy is fundamentally unsound. Rent seeking economies have no future in this world of ours. They would be well advised to take a leaf out of Dubai’s book and speed up the diversification of their economy.

Thats just like other Africa's Petro-Dollar nations.

^^Oil represents over 90 percent of exports and 85 percent of state revenues? This economy is fundamentally unsound. Rent seeking economies have no future in this world of ours. They would be well advised to take a leaf out of Dubai’s book and speed up the diversification of their economy.

Yes, very risky business here.

ROC did strike that farming deal with the South Africans so that might bear fruit and earn some exports numbers for Brazza. It will either be a master stroke if it come off well or it will be a disaster, I hope its the former.

From my understanding, France basically control the oil production anyway but thats another story.

Good thing about ROC is that the population has been kept low, in the long term I do not know the effects but in the short term at least, it is a positive.

Congo Rep plans oil infrastructure boostBRAZZAVILLE Jan 13 (Reuters) - Congo Republic plans the construction of an oil port, second refinery and major pipeline as part of an expansion of its oil sector, Hydrocarbons Minister Andre Raphael Loemba announced on Friday.

The announcement, which was made as part of a New Year's address to ministry employees, contained no details either of the timing or cost of the projects. The planned pipeline is due to stretch from Pointe-Noire on the coast to the capital Brazzaville and up to Ouesso in the north-west of the country.

High oil prices prompted the Congolese government to forecast record budget receipts in 2011 even as output declined last year to 109 million barrels from 114 million in 2010.

Around a dozen international oil companies are present in the country, with France's Total responsible for about two-thirds of production.

Loemba said he also expected the government to adopt this year a new legal and fiscal framework for the sector, giving no other details other than to say it would boost activities. (reporting by Christian Tsoumou; editing by Mark John)

Wah Soeng plans RM2.3b palm oil project in Congo

Malaysian diversified group Wah Soeng Berhad plans to invest US$744 million (RM2.3 billion) to develop a palm oil agro-industrial complex including a 180,000-hectare palm plantation in the Republic of Congo, the country’s agriculture minister said.

The investment through the group’s ATAMA Plantation subsidiary will, when completed, create the largest palm oil project in the Congo basin area and propel Kuala Lumpur-listed Wah Soeng to the top of the global palm producers.

“About US$744 million will be invested in the first ten years,” Rigobert Maboundou said on Thursday during a ceremony at the future site of the project around 800km north of the capital Brazzaville.

Construction of the palm oil transformation units will begin next year and production will kick off in 2017, Leong Kian Ming, ATAMA’s chief executive officer, said during the ceremony.

“From 140,000 tonnes, production will rise to 720,000 tonnes per year at its peak,” Kian Ming said.

Global demand for palm oil, which is growing by about 9 per cent annually, has spurred investments in the sector, with several major Asian producers seeking new land for plantations in Africa.

Singaporean commodities trading giant Olam plans to develop 130,000 hectares for palm oil in Congo’s neighbour Gabon, while Malaysia’s Sime Darby has a 220,000-hectare concession in Liberia.

The palm developments have however raised concerns from environmental and conservation groups who say companies do not take into consideration the impact of projects on wildlife and the livelihoods of populations near the plantations.

Herakles, a company owned by New York venture capital firm Herakles Capital, has suspended work on its giant 60,000-hectare palm oil plantation in Cameroon after protests by environmental groups and villagers. – Reuters
http://www.themalaysianinsider.com/business/article/wah-soeng-plans-rm2.3b-palm-oil-project-in-congo/