Angola and DRC: Common Interest Zone            

Angola and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) have signed a cooperation agreement for the joint exploitation and production of hydrocarbons in the area situated on the maritime border of the two countries. The agreement was formalized last week (July 13) in Kinshasa between the Petroleum Ministers of Angola and the DRC.

The area, designated as “Common Interest Zone”, lies between the north section of Angola’s Blocks 1, 15 and 31 and the south section of Block 14 as noted in the following map:

The Common Interest Zone is to be economically shared on a 50%/50% basis by the two countries. This is a high-potential offshore area that holds strong indications of hydrocarbon deposits and leads.

Following the signing of the cooperation agreement, the two countries will enter into a Production Sharing Contract with the Block 14 contractor group, led by operator Chevron. A model of such PSA was agreed last month.

The Common Interest Zone has a long and protracted history with a lot of back and forth in the negotiations between Angola and the DRC. The first Memorandum of Understanding on the subject was inked 20 years ago (on 8 June 2003), which was followed by a “Cooperation Protocol” approved in 2008. After a long period of inactivity, the two countries reengaged in 2020 and ensuing negotiations culminated in the signing of the new cooperation agreement last week.

Rui Amendoeira – OnelLegal Partner