Rwanda backtracks on oil find claim in Lake Kivu

Rwanda backtracked Wednesday from an earlier claim that it had discovered its first oil reserves in Lake Kivu, saying it was still in an exploratory phase and looking for partners.

Francis Kamanzi, chief executive of the Rwanda Mines, Petroleum and Gas Board (RMB), had earlier told a parliamentary hearing: “The good news is that we have oil,” according to local media reports.

But the RMB board later put out a statement indicating it was too early to be so definite.

It said a two-dimensional seismic survey of Lake Kivu, which it shares with the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), had identified 13 “structural pockets and potential drilling locations to confirm the presence and nature of hydrocarbons”.

“RMB is pitching for relevant potential actors to participate in further stages of exploration, development and production of oil and gas of Lake Kivu basin,” it added.

Given the significant reserves found across the Great Lakes region by neighbours Uganda and DR Congo, there is a high probability of finding oil reserves on Rwandan territory.

Rwanda already extracts methane gas from Lake Kivu and has been carrying out tests and exploratory digs for more than a decade.

It has continued to hold discussions on exploration with DRC despite the ongoing conflict in eastern DRC.

Rwanda-backed armed forces known as the March 23 Movement (M23) have seized swathes of territory and mining operations there, triggering a humanitarian crisis.