Introduction

Block III is located in the north-eastern part of the country, bordering Uganda on the DRC side of the Albertine Graben Basin, which is part of the East African Rift System.

In March 2011, South Africa's SacOil, through its subsidiary Semliki Energy SPRL, and Total E&P RDC have concluded their farm-in agreement for Block III in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). The Government of the DRC, acting through the Ministry of Hydrocarbons, has approved the agreement including Total becoming the Operator of the block.

In Oct 2015, JV partner SacOilreports that, following application to the Ministry of Hydrocarbons of the Democratic Republic of Congo ('DRC'), the joint venture partners, with Total E&P RDC as operator, were informed that the Block III licence was extended for an additional two years.With this extension, the current exploration period of Block III is extended from 27 January 2016 to 26 January 2018, which will allow more time to complete the acquisition and processing of 2D seismic data.

In Feb 2016, Democratic Republic of Congo Block III operator Total E&P has announced he has commenced with the acquisition of a 2D seismic survey following the granting of a two-year extension to current exploration period by the Minister of Hydrocarbons.

In May 2019, Total has indicated that it will no longer continue as part of the consortium to further explore the concession.