Two companies belonging to businessperson Khulubuse Zuma are searching for oil in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), the Sunday Times reported.
Zuma’s companies, Caprikat and Foxwhelp, are registered in the British Virgin Islands and have begun exploration activities in the east of the DRC, according to British oil industry watchdog Platform London, the paper reported.
This was also confirmed by Michael Hulley, Zuma’s legal adviser.
“If you ask anyone there, they will tell you the area is known for its deposits of oil. But the fact of the matter is that there are certain pre-emptive steps that you need to take. We are busy with those pre-emptive steps,” the Sunday Times quoted Hulley as saying.
Zuma, President Jacob Zuma’s nephew, paid $6-million for two oil concessions in the country in 2010, the weekly reported.
The sites had been held by Irish group Tullow since 2006. Tullow attempted unsuccessfully to block their reassignment to Zuma. — Sapa