Hydrocarbons Minister Acacia Bandubola Mbongo has announced a series of projects to improve the supply of petroleum products in the provinces of Grand Equateur, Kasai and Sankuru. The projects were presented to executives from petroleum logistics and distribution companies during a meeting held on Jan. 8, 2026.

During the meeting, the minister outlined priorities for 2026, including the construction of new pipelines, the installation of additional storage facilities, and the rehabilitation of existing infrastructure to improve supply in underserved provinces of the Democratic Republic of Congo.

According to Olivier Okunda, deputy director general of Cobil, the meeting aimed to identify projects that could improve fuel supply in Grand Equateur, Kasai and Sankuru. He said technical and quantitative data would be submitted to the minister for government approval.

A 2022 roundtable involving the government and oil operators recommended the development of a dedicated roadmap to improve supply in Grand Equateur and Grand Kasai. Proposed measures included waterway dredging and marking, maintenance and rehabilitation of national roads, and the construction of fuel stations in each territory. Other recommendations included expanding the fuel molecular-marking programme and strengthening logistics capacity, notably through the provision of firefighting equipment to the provinces.

Oil operators also called for subsidies for the national railway operator SNCC to increase transport volumes and the number of tank wagons. They further urged the government to ensure regular fuel supply to the provinces and to enforce the existing price structure.

Ronsard Luabeya