The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) is home to some of the planet’s most critical ecological and cultural landscapes. Located in the heart of the Congo Basin—the world’s second-largest rainforest— the DRC is home to vast amounts of biodiversity, from great apes to forest elephants, alongside millions of Indigenous peoples and local communities who depend on its ecosystems for survival. The rich peat swamp forest of the Congo Basin also plays a vital role in stabilizing the global climate, absorbing billions of tons of carbon dioxide each year.

Despite the global significance of landscapes across the DRC, the country has faced escalating threats from oil and gas extraction in recent years. In July 2022, the DRC government launched tenders for 27 oil and 3 gas blocks, covering vast areas of land across the country, including in highly sensitive primary forests. This move faced strong resistance from Congolese civil society, local communities, and environmental organizations. Local and regional opposition has emphasized the devastating impacts oil and gas development would have on biodiversity, communities, land rights, and the global fight against climate change.

In October 2024, the Ministry of Hydrocarbons canceled tenders for the 27 oil blocks from the 2022 licensing round citing inappropriate or irregular offers and a lack of competition. However, the three gas blocks around Lake Kivu, a designated Key Biodiversity Area, were successfully auctioned and excluded from the cancellations—setting a troubling precedent.

Amidst stark opposition, the DRC government has signaled its intention to relaunch an auction for the oil blocks, raising the potential for catastrophic environmental and social impacts.

Protected Areas, Forests, and Key Biodiversity Areas at Risk

New analyses demonstrate what is at risk if the DRC continues business as usual. In total, the 2022 oil blocks overlapped with more than 11 million hectares of tropical forests and over 4 million hectares of Key Biodiversity Areas—regions that remain at risk of being re-auctioned in the near future.

The original blocks also overlapped with nearly 2.5 million hectares of IUCN Category I-IV protected areas, including Virunga National Park, a World Heritage Site and one of the last remaining homes on Earth for endangered mountain gorillas. Upemba National Park, a national treasure in the midst of immense restoration efforts, is overlapped completely by an oil block previously up for auction. The DRC’s protected areas are crucial for global biodiversity and carbon sequestration, playing a key role in preserving the ecological integrity of the Congo Basin and supporting climate stability worldwide— these areas should be entirely off-limits to oil and gas exploration and extraction.

The potential for damage also extends beyond the boundaries of the oil blocks themselves. Access roads and infrastructure development hold the potential to accelerate illegal logging and mining, disrupt wildlife corridors, and increase human-wildlife conflicts, compounding the challenges already facing these fragile ecosystems.  The alarming disregard for significant ecological integrity and climate storage services of this region highlights the immense risk at hand.

Local Communities on the Frontlines

For many Indigenous Peoples and local communities, the stakes are deeply personal. Millions of people rely on the lands and waters within these blocks for food, drinking water, and cultural practices, and spiritual identity. Oil operations risk displacing communities, polluting their lands, and eroding traditional ways of life.

A new campaign called Our Land Without Oil has recently emerged from a civil society coalition who have issued a declaration calling for the permanent removal of these oil concessions. Emmanuel Musuyu, Technical Secretary of CORAP, emphasized the critical importance of rejecting further oil expansion:

“We welcome the government's decision to cancel 27 oil blocks in the DRC temporarily. However, we believe that the idea of launching new calls for tenders for the exploitation of oil blocks will only increase the risk of destroying Key Biodiversity Areas and the land of local communities in the Congo Basin. There is a great opportunity for the DRC to position itself as a world leader in renewable energy and to chart a path forward that is in line with the global imperative to end fossil fuel expansion.”

Looking Ahead

If the DRC government moves forward with a new auction for these blocks, the consequences will be devastating. However, the recent cancellation presents a critical opportunity to reshape the country’s approach to oil and gas development. The Ministry of Hydrocarbons has suggested that they may exclude protected areas from future auctions— a step in the right direction, but one that still falls short of what is needed. This moment offers a chance to reject further fossil fuel expansion, especially in fragile ecosystems, and take a bold step toward a fossil-free future—one that aligns with the urgent global shift needed worldwide.