The Democratic Republic of Congo is forming a plan to take back two oil blocks from sanctioned Israeli billionaire Dan Gertler and sell them to another company. The Congolese government has talked to Tullow Oil about purchasing a stake in the Lake Albert licences along the country’s border with Uganda, said four people with knowledge of the discussions. Total SA and Eni had also showed some interest, two of the people said. The blocks could be a natural fit for Tullow and Total, which already share rights to adjoining areas on the Ugandan side of the lake where more than a billion barrels of oil have been discovered. The Congo licenses have long been regarded as having the potential for large discoveries, but proper exploration has been held up for years by legal and political wrangling.
