Following application to the Ministry of Hydrocarbons of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), the joint venture partners, with Total E&P RDC as operator, had the Block III license extended for an additional two years, ScandOild reported.

SacOil, South African based independent African oil and gas company, holds a 12.5% effective interest in Block III.

With this extension, the current exploration period of Block III is extended from 27 January 2016 to 26 January 2018. It gives the partners more time to complete the acquisition and processing of 2D seismic data, SacOil said in a stock market statement.

So far, the partners have gathered and processed data from gravity and magnetic surveys on the norther part of the Block III area, outside the Virunga National Park.