The deadline for submitting bids for the 27 oil blocks up for tender in the Democratic Republic of Congo has been pushed back by several months, the government has announced.
The closing of the tenders will take place between April and October this year, depending on the blocks, Hydrocarbons Minister Didier Budimbu said on Twitter.
"This postponement will allow the companies to continue with the various technical evaluations that are essential for assessing the offers," he explains.
The DRC government decided last July to auction off 27 oil blocks and three gas blocks.
The gas blocks have already been awarded to two US and one Canadian company, selected to exploit methane gas on the Congolese side of Lake Kivu, located on the Rwandan border.
The government defends the DRC's right to exploit its oil resources and promises to ensure that the environment is respected.
Environmental organisations, on the other hand, are up in arms against the project.
"African countries are already disproportionately affected by the climate crisis, suffering intense droughts across sub-Saharan Africa," Greenpeace Africa tweeted on Saturday.
"Bidding for oil blocks in the DRC's peatlands will lead us to a climate catastrophe," the NGO adds.