Congo's own audit confirms the oil pollution Perenco denies causing

A government audit in the Democratic Republic of Congo has corroborated findings by Human Rights Watch that oil operations run by the company Perenco polluted the surrounding environment. On July 27, 2026, HRW released a report documenting routine gas flaring, the open burning of oil waste near residential areas, and spills from wells and pipelines that fouled soil and riverbeds [1]. Four days later, on July 31, an official from the Ministry of Hydrocarbons confirmed that the government's own audit had reached a compatible conclusion [1].

The official said the audit identified "negative impacts on soil and air quality" tied to Perenco's operations and pointed to aging infrastructure and pipelines as a contributor to soil pollution [1]. All aspects of pollution, the official said, will be addressed in the final report, which is expected to be completed in late September 2026 [1]. The government commissioned the audit back in December 2024, and groundwater sampling is still underway [1].

HRW's report laid out specific practices, not general complaints. Routine gas flaring and open burning of oil waste near where people live degraded air quality; oil spills from wells and pipelines polluted soils and riverbeds; and the open-burning practices, HRW found, violated Congolese environmental law [1].

Perenco rejects the characterization. The company denied that its operations "would cause air, soil and water pollution or detrimental acute health conditions" [1]. That denial is the steel-man version of the company's position: a flat statement that the harms described did not occur. What the record now shows is that the government's audit, not only an advocacy group, found otherwise.

The ministry official framed the coming report as a test of the state's own credibility. "The government is committed to full transparency regarding this audit," the official said, adding that it will be made public once finalized [1]. Whether that commitment holds, and what enforcement follows, will not be clear until the final report lands in late September.