Drilling in the oil block known as Block 3 in the Democratic Republic of Congo could start in the first quarter of next year, Robin Vela, the CEO of the upstream oil and gas company SacOil, said yesterday.

This follows the recent decision by the Congo government to approve a presidential ordinance guaranteeing French the energy company Total’s security of tenure.

Total is the operator of Block 3, with a 60% interest. SacOil owns an effective 12.5% of the oil block, which is situated in Albertine Graben in the eastern part of the Congo, on the Uganda border.