Congo unveils tender for exploitation of methane gas on Lake Kivu
KINSHASA Fri May 30, 2014 3:08pm EDT
May 30 (Reuters) - Democratic Republic of Congo's oil ministry has
called for bids to exploit reserves of methane gas at the bottom of
Lake Kivu on its eastern border with Rwanda, the prime minister's
office said on Friday.
The office announced the tender on its twitter account but did not
give details. An oil ministry official said the tender process had not
yet begun but added that Congo needed the gas to help meet its energy
deficit.
"It is very important that we exploit this gas, because otherwise it
has the potential to explode and cause significant damage to the
population," said the ministry official, who requested anonymity.
Methane and carbon dioxide collect at the bottom of the lake's icy
waters. Although there has been no major incident on Lake Kivu in
recent times, in 1986 a gas leak on Lake Nyos in Cameroon, which has
smaller concentrations, suffocated about 1,700 people.
Congo's vast network of rivers has the potential to generate 100,000
megawatts of hydroelectric power, according to the government, enough
to supply much of Africa. But that potential is largely unexploited,
and currently only 9 percent of Congo's population has access to
power.
Methane is already being exploited on the Rwandan side of Lake Kivu to
produce around 26 MW of power, and operator U.S.-based company
ContourGlobal plans to expand capacity to 100 MW.
Congo also has vast mineral deposits of diamonds, gold, tin, coltan
and cobalt, and the economy depends on the mining sector. Meeting
energy demand has become a government priority.
Industrial mining operators have only recently come to Congo's
troubled eastern provinces of North and South Kivu, which have been
the scene of violent conflicts stretching back for nearly two decades.
(Reporting By Peter Jones; Editing by Joe Bavier and Jane Baird)
http://www.google.ca/gwt/x?gl=CA&hl=en-CA&u=http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/05/30/congodemocratic-energy-idUSL6N0OG45J20140530&source=s&q=Congo+unveils+tender+for+exploitation+of+methane+gas+on+Lake+Kivu&sa=X&ei=ugeJU878NMbQsQShhYDIAw&ved=0CB4QFjAA
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