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Article

9 Nov 2009

Author:
Guy Chazan, Wall Street Journal

Environmentalists Criticize Eni's African Oil Sands Project [Rep. of Congo]

Criticism is mounting against Italian energy giant Eni SpA's plans to squeeze oil from the tar sands of the Republic of Congo, which campaigners claim could endanger one of the world's largest tropical rain forests. Eni says the crude would be produced in areas of grassy savannah, and wouldn't harm the local environment... At issue is a technology condemned by environmentalists as polluting and out-of-synch with global efforts to tackle climate change. Eni's project would mark the first time the process of deriving synthetic crude from oil sands...has been applied on any scale outside of Canada...Eni said the tar sands project would involve "no destruction of primary forest; no occupation of existing farmland; no impact on areas of high biodiversity; and no...resettlement of people." It said whatever the conclusion of the environmental and social impact assessment it is currently conducting, "no rain forest area will be affected by the project."