Exclusive-Canadian winner of gas rights on Congo's 'killer' Lake Kivu failed criteria

- A Canadian start-up run from a private home was chosen by Democratic Republic of Congo for a technically complex project to extract methane from the deep waters of a volatile lake, despite the company not meeting the tender's financial criteria, documents seen by Reuters show.

Canada-based Alfajiri Energy Corporation was included in the auction although an evaluation report produced by a government-appointed commission in October 2022 found the company did not meet minimum financial requirements. "The process was very transparent and it will remain so. I will make sure of it," he said in an earlier text message exchange.Tshisekedi's office declined to comment, saying any questions about the auction should be directed to Budimbu.

Specifically, articles 66 and 67 of the regulations say offers will be rejected if they do not meet certain conditions including "the presentation of balance sheets and statements from the last three financial years."The first hurdle to clear was the pre-selection stage where a panel of government oil sector officials and technical experts evaluated the suitability of the companies competing for the three blocks.

In his response to Reuters, Minister Budimbu denied Alfajiri's lack of financial records should have disqualified it in the pre-selection phase, saying this amounted to a misinterpretation of the law. However, some scientists, including vulcanologist Dario Tedesco, say failure to properly reinject water and by-products could increase the chances of eruptions of carbon dioxide and poisonous hydrogen sulfide, pollute the lake bottom and alter its delicate chemical and physical balance.Despite its lack of financial history, Alfajiri advanced in the process, and its bid for the Lwandjofu block was assessed alongside those of U.S.

Alfajiri failed to demonstrate it employed qualified staff, had not submitted a feasibility study or a timetable for the project and "had not taken account of public safety issues," the report said.But then, an edited version of the report put Alfajiri in first place, the documents show.

Source: Law Daily Report (lawdailyreport.net)

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