There may be more than 2 billion bbl of oil under Lake Albert, said Oil of DR Congo director Giovanni Pedaci yesterday in Kinshasa. The capital city is hosting a two-day DRC Oil & Gas Forum, organized by Infrastructure Partnerships for Africa Development (iPAD).
Oil of DR Congo, controlled by Israeli billionaire Dan Gertler, recently completed a seismic survey across the lake. The phase 2 survey, completed in August, covers 181 sq mi. (470 sq km) on and offshore, in blocks 1 and 2.
The company says the data indicates a large structural trap beneath Lake Albert, but reservoirs have not been confirmed by drilling. Oil of DR Congo is now looking for partners to develop blocks on the western side of the lake, Pedaci said. “To develop a reservoir so big is capital intensive -– two, three, four billion dollars,” Pedaci said, and Oil of DR Congo shareholders are "looking for some people to share the risk.”
Lake Albert is the nortnernmost rift basin in the western rift valley of the East African rift system and straddles the political border of Uganda and the Democratic Republic of Congo (Kinshasa). It's a shallow lake, averaging 82ft deep, about 92 mi. (160km) long and 19 mi. (30km) wide. Unlike the larger rift lakes, which consist of alternating half-grabens, the Lake Albert rift is a symmetrical full graben, with steeply dipping faults on both northwest and southeast margins.
The roughly symmetric geology is a boon to the DR Congo, which anticipates finding reserves similar to those already proven on the Ugandan side of the lake.
Jersey-based Heritage Oil & Gas Ltd. and Ireland's Tullow Oil Plc were equal partners and drilled 50 wells in Ugandan blocks, finding more than 1 billion bbl of crude since 2006. In December 2010, Heritage announced plans to transfer its 50% of the assets to Italy's ENI, prompting Tullow to exercise its first right of option under the same terms. Uganda Revenue Authority (URA) demanded 30% of the US$1.45 billion deal in capital-gains tax, and Heritage appealed the US$434million levy to the Uganda Tax Appeals Tribunal, and then to a London tribunal. losing in both.
Tullow now holds four Lake Albert licenses in Uganda, partnered with CNOOC and Total.
Gertler's Oil of DR Congo is focused on two license blocks on the western side of the lake, in DR Congo waters, which it operates on behalf of Caprikat and Foxwhelp. These two companies were incorporated in the British Virgin Islands shortly before receiving 5-year licenses in 2010, with no track record in the energy sector, the Financial Times reported. Tullow Oil and Heritage Oil were awarded blocks 1 and 2 in July 2006, but were cancelled by DR Congo in and reawarded to Caprikat and Foxwhelp.
Bloomberg reported that Caprickat and Foxwhelp are both owned by Khulubuse Zuma, the nephew of South African President Jacob Zuma. Global Witness cites numerous sources linking Gertler to Caprickat and Foxwhelp.
Satellite photo of Lake Albert from National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA).
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