The event was opened by the Secretary of State for Mineral Resources, Jânio Corrêa Victor.
"On behalf of the Minister of Mineral Resources, Oil and Gas, the Secretary of State for Mineral Resources, Jânio Corrêa Victor, opened another round of talks on the joint use of petroleum resources in the Zone of Common Interest (ZIC) to Angola and DRC", can be read in a note from the Ministry of Mineral Resources, Oil and Gas, which VerAngola had access to.
On the occasion, the Congolese minister of hydrocarbons, Didier Budimbu Ntubuanga – who heads the DRC delegation – was invited to speak, having addressed "greetings to the presidents of Angola and the DRC, João Lourenço and Félix Tshisekedi, respectively".
Quoted in the communiqué, the official stressed that "the effort and vision of the two statesmen led to these meetings that began last year".
The Congolese minister also expressed his country's interest "in accelerating the signing of the agreements on the ZIC and making fuel trafficking on the border between the two countries unfeasible", reads the note.
On his turn, according to Angop, Jânio Corrêa Victor took the opportunity to highlight the country's interest in complying with the "team" of the process, as well as collaboration in fuel supply.
According to Angop, the meeting takes place within the framework of the collaboration agreement between both countries in field of hydrocarbons, which was signed 20 years ago and has been studying aspects related to the joint research and production of hydrocarbons in the Maritime Zone of Common Interest.
More than 50 gas stations deactivated in the first three months of the year
Smuggling, the low profit of the concessionaires and the location led to the deactivation of more than 50 fuel stations – located in border areas – during the first three months of this year, writes Angop.
According to Bruno Dito, a technician from the Department of Trade Relations, Tariffs and Prices of the Regulatory Institute for Petroleum Derivatives, the country has 904 posts in operation.
