Victory for The Congo: Oil Company Halts Exploration in Africa’s Virunga National Park

Nation of Change, Christina Sarich, Friday 27 June 2014

Soco International will stop oil prospecting in Virunga, a world heritage site in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. It’s the biggest success for conservationists in years. Hooray!

British Oil Company, Soco International, has announced a surprising decision to stop exploring in the Virunga world heritage site in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). Conservationists claim this is one of their largest successes in years.

Virunga is one of the world’s oldest and most bio-diverse national parks on the planet. It offers beautiful views of the rift valley and Nyiragongo and Mikeno volcanoes. It is home to half the world’s endangered mountain gorillas, as well as elephants, hippos, chimpanzees, blue monkeys, abundant bird life, and thousands of other life forms.

Soco, which operates in Angola and Vietnam, caused outrage when it was initially given permission to conduct seismic testing in Africa for the purpose of oil prospecting. Virunga is considered one of the world’s most volatile regions, and leading conservation groups collected the signatures of more than 700,000 people to halt the company’s plans.

The company told the WWF it would:

“. . .commit not to undertake or commission any exploratory or other drilling within Virunga national park unless Unesco and the DRC government agree that such activities are not incompatible with its world heritage status.”

While the WWF meditation may have helped the cause, it is likely that the involvement of prominent figures like Richard Branson, Archbishop Desmond Tutu and US financier Howard Buffett, helped to put pressure on the British government, who then leaned on Soco to halt their exploration.

Soco stated:

"We will complete our existing operational programme including completing the seismic survey on Lake Edward which is due to conclude shortly. The Company confirms its previous statements that no Block V drilling commitments have ever been made. The conclusion of this phase of work will give the DRC government vital information it will need in deciding how to proceed in Virunga national park.”

Virunga was designated a world heritage site in 1979 but intense fighting among armies and militia such as the Mai Mai rebel group have made it one of the most unstable politically as well. It is also home to tens of thousands of people who fled to Virunga from genocide in Rwanda. The violence has been so intense, that park rangers have been killed and last month, the Virunga chief warden, Emmanuel de Mérode, was shot and seriously wounded.

Furthermore, Lake Albert, which provides water to more than 50,000 families, is also now protected from pollution that would likely ensue from oil exploitation.

"If free from the threat of oil, Virunga can be a source of hope for the people of the DRC. This park can become a leading economic driver for its communities", said Raymond Lumbuenamo, country director of WWF-Congo DRC.