DRC and Angola set aside a 50-year oil block dispute to become joint holders

• The Democratic Republic of the Congo and Angola are on the verge of settling a 50-year dispute over an offshore block.
• A successful agreement could help reduce tensions between the two countries and result in Angola's state-owned oil company, Sonangol, forgiving a $200 million debt owed by the Congo's national oil company.
• In addition to the potential settlement, Congo and Angola are expanding their collaboration in various sectors.

The Democratic Republic of the Congo and neighboring Angola are close to reaching a settlement on one of their offshore blocks, which has been the subject of a 50-year dispute, the Congo's oil minister told Reuters.

According to Didier Budimbu in an interview with Reuters in Paris, the production-sharing agreement put out by Angola and Chevron (CVX.N) calls for each nation to own 30% of block 14 and operator Chevron to have the remaining 40%.

A successful agreement might aid in reducing tensions between the two nations over the blocks, which Angola has long held. Requests for a reaction from Sonangol and Chevron, the state-owned oil companies in Angola, went unanswered.

We are due to meet again very soon and things can move very quickly, Budimbu said. “The two countries will have around 30% and 40% for the operator, he added. On the further blocks that cross both nations' borders on the Atlantic coast, he said that conversations were still ongoing.

According to Budimbu, Sonangol, the state-owned oil business of Angola, will write off a $200 million debt that Sonahydroc, the national oil company of the Congo, owes Sonangol.

This arrangement is not the only recent collaboration between these two nations. In an effort to improve mobility, it was announced two weeks ago that officials from Congo and Angola who carry diplomatic or official passports are no longer required to get visas.

The agreement was signed at the 8th joint cooperation committee between the two countries, which was held in the capital Brazzaville, by Tete António and Denis Christel Sassou Nguesso, the senior diplomat for the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

The two nations also decided to begin the process of finalizing cooperation agreements in the fields of tourism, women's empowerment, forestry, wildlife ecosystems, small and medium-sized businesses, construction crafts, urban planning, housing, and housing.

Sassou Nguesso and Antonio also agreed to take charge of the Joint Technical Commission of Border Experts and its subcommissions' resumption of work. In order to maximize the economic potential of the two nations, they also suggested creating an economic conference.

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