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Exclusive: Firm chosen to extract gas from Congo’s Lake Kivu failed criteria

Exclusive: Firm chosen to extract gas from Congo’s Lake Kivu failed criteria

A Canadian start-up run from a private home was chosen by the Democratic Republic of Congo for a technically complex project to extract methane from the deep waters of a volatile lake, despite the company not meeting the tender's financial criteria, documents seen by Reuters show. President Felix Tshisekedi, who is seeking re-election in December, has promised to shake off Congo's reputation for opaque dealings as he pushes plans to develop dozens of oil and gas blocks – many of them in environmentally sensitive areas. First to be auctioned were three methane blocks in Lake Kivu, sometimes dubbed a "killer…
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Six dead, 64 missing after boat sinks in Congo’s Lake Kivu

Six dead, 64 missing after boat sinks in Congo’s Lake Kivu

SIX people were killed and 64 others were missing after a boat capsized in the Democratic Republic of Congo's Lake Kivu early on Monday, local authorities said. Mustapha Mamboleo, a local official at Idjwi island in the lake, said 150 passengers were aboard the motorised boat travelling from Mugote village on Idjwi island to the eastern city of Goma and 80 of them survived. Mathieu Alimasi Malumbi, the transport minister for South Kivu province, confirmed the incident. "I can confirm that there was a capsizing of a motorboat with more than 100 passengers on board, many of whom were not…
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Congo awards Lake Kivu gas blocks to U.S. and Canadian producers

Congo awards Lake Kivu gas blocks to U.S. and Canadian producers

THE Democratic Republic of Congo has awarded licences to three natural gas blocks in Lake Kivu on its eastern border, with some production expected to start as early as next year, the hydrocarbons ministry said. The Makelele block was awarded to RED, a local subsidiary of United States-based Symbion Power, the ministry said. The Idjwi block went to another U.S. company, Winds Exploration and Production LLC. The Lwandjofu block was won by Canada-based Alfajiri Energy. The production-sharing contracts will be signed within 15 days, hydrocarbons minister Didier Budimbu told Reuters. He said he hoped the Symbion Power block would begin…
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Thousands flee Goma after DRC warns of possible new eruption

Thousands flee Goma after DRC warns of possible new eruption

DJAFFAR Al KATANTY THOUSANDS of people scrambled to flee the Congolese city of Goma yesterday, some picking their way across landscapes scarred with lava after officials said a second volcanic eruption could happen any time. Magma, the molten rock that normally stays beneath the earth's crust, had been detected beneath the city and the adjoining Lake Kivu, Constant Ndima Kongba, the military governor of North Kivu province, said, citing seismic and ground deformation data. "Given these scientific observations, an eruption on land or under the lake cannot be ruled out at present, and it could occur with very little or…
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Three drowned, dozens missing, after boat sinks in Lake Kivu

Three drowned, dozens missing, after boat sinks in Lake Kivu

AT least two children and one woman have drowned after a passenger boat sank on Lake Kivu in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, a local official has said, as survivors warned that dozens more were still missing. The boat, bound for the regional capital Goma, capsized overnight on Tuesday, after having set off in the dark overloaded and from an illegal mooring, regional government spokesman Claude Basila said. Deadly boat accidents are common in Congo, which has few tarred roads across its vast, forested territory and where vessels are frequently loaded well beyond their capacity. The spokesman said the…
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