Israeli tycoon claims huge oil find in DR Congo

A company owned by Israeli mining magnate Dan Gertler said it has
discovered vast potential reserves of oil in the strife-torn east of
the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Oil of DRCongo, a subsidiary of the Fleurette Group, said in a
statement that seismic testing from Lake Albert, which forms part of
the northeastern border with Uganda, indicated reserves of around
three billion barrels of oil.

It said exporting the oil from North Kivu province could boost the
gross domestic product (GDP) of the vast central African nation by 25
percent.

Armed movements, including rebel forces from Uganda and its small but
powerful southern neighbour Rwanda, have for decades battled in North
Kivu over land and valuable minerals, in waves of ethnic bloodshed.

According to the World Bank, GDP in 2013 was $30.6 billion for a
nation of 67 million people.

Oil of DRCongo said it planned to conduct more tests and establish
exploratory wells, but warned that further development was bound to
affect people living by the shore of the lake in the restive
territory.

Preparation for drilling "includes relocation of some local
communities, transport to the site of the drilling equipment,
installation of a base camp for staff, new supply roads, a new dock on
Lake Albert and a landing strip for moving personnel and equipment,"
it said in a statement.

It said the enormous find on DRC territory "mirrors that of the
Ugandan side" of the lake, but gave no further details.

The company highlighted efforts it has made in return to help local
residents by building roads and schools and giving financial support
to a medical and maternity centre.

- 'Source of opportunity' -

Omar Kavota, a spokesman for civil society groups in North Kivu, said
the reported oil find could be "a source of opportunity to boost the
level of the economy".

But he insisted that "the wealth must be exploited in a legal way to
benefit everybody", arguing that if this failed to happen,
"neighbouring states could manipulate armed groups to make this part
of the country ungovernable, to stop the DRC from benefitting from its
natural resources."

Gertler, whose net worth is estimated at $2.5 billion by US business
magazine Forbes, is close to DRC President Joseph Kabila, and has a
wide range of interests from mining to trade, according to the
Fleurette Group.

He has reportedly helped create more than 20,000 jobs in the DRC after
buying his first mine in the troubled country in 1997.

But critics claim that he has built his fortune by acquiring mining
permits in the DRC in dubious circumstances, although he has always
denied this.

The country has enormous potential mineral wealth, with huge reserves
of cobalt, copper, diamonds, gold, silver, zinc and uranium.

But the almost relentless conflict, along with pillaging, illegal
mining and a lack of investment, has kept the country classified as
low-income, with 70 percent of people living below the poverty line.

AFP