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Natural gas and oil in the Republic of the Congo

Energy consumption in the Republic of the Congo

The most important figure in the energy balance of the Republic of the Congo is the total consumption of
2.07 billion kWh
of electric energy per year. Per capita this is an average of 354 kWh.

The Republic of the Congo could be self-sufficient with domestically produced energy. The total production of all electric energy producing facilities is four bn kWh, which is 180 percent of the country's own usage. Despite this, the Republic of the Congo trades energy with foreign countries. Along with pure consumption, the production, imports and exports play an important role. Other energy sources, such as natural gas or crude oil are also used.

Back to overview: Congo

Energy Balance

ElectricitytotalCongo
per capita
USA
per capita
Own consumption2.07 bn kWh353.95 kWh11,744.38 kWh
Production3.71 bn kWh635.66 kWh12,198.66 kWh
Import23.00 m kWh3.94 kWh185.15 kWh
Export44.00 m kWh7.54 kWh42.59 kWh

49.5% of the country's population (as of 2020) has access to electricity. In rural areas, the share was 14.8%
Crude OilBarrel/dayCongo
per capita
USA
per capita
Own consumption12,600.00 bbl0.002 bbl0.062 bbl
Production270,900.00 bbl0.046 bbl0.054 bbl
Export331,700.00 bbl0.057 bbl0.006 bbl

In 2021 there were still 2.88 bn barrels of recoverable but not yet used crude oil reserves in the currently known deposits of the Congo. Worldwide, there are still proved oil reserves totaling around 1.7 tn billion barrels. The Congo therefore has a share of 0.169% and ranks 30th out of 211 countries with crude oil reserves.

Natural GasCubic metersCongo
per capita
USA
per capita
Own consumption1.40 bn m³239.90 m³2,583.79 m³
Production1.40 bn m³239.90 m³2,914.02 m³


CO₂ emissions

CO₂ emissions
in 2019
Congo
per capita
USA
per capita
total7.26 m t1.30 t14.52 t
› of which diesel + gasoline1.78 bn t318.99 t7,179.51 t
› of which natural gas2.75 bn t493.11 t5,073.94 t


Development of CO₂ emissions from 1960 to 2019 in million tons
See also: CO₂ equivalents by country

CO₂ emissions Congo


Production capacities per energy source

The given production capacities for electric energy have a theoretical value, which can only be obtained under ideal conditions. They are measuring the generatable amount of energy, that would be reached under permanent and full use of all capacities of all power plants.

In practice this isn't possible, because e.g. solar collectors are less efficient under clouds. Also wind- and water-power plants are not always operating under full load. All these values are only useful in relation to other energy sources or countries.

Energy sourcetotal
in the Congo
Percentage
in the Congo
Percentage
USA
per capita
in the Congo
per capita
USA
Fossil fuels3.86 bn kWh70,1 %59,9 %661.87 kWh2.06 kWh
Nuclear power0.00 kWh0,0 %19,5 %0.00 kWh0.67 kWh
Solar energy0.00 kWh0,0 %3,2 %0.00 kWh0.11 kWh
Wind power0.00 kWh0,0 %8,3 %0.00 kWh0.29 kWh
Water power1.65 bn kWh29,9 %7,0 %282.31 kWh0.24 kWh
Tidal Power Plants0.00 kWh0,0 %0,0 %0.00 kWh0.00 kWh
Geothermics0.00 kWh0,0 %0,4 %0.00 kWh0.01 kWh
Biomass0.00 kWh0,0 %1,7 %0.00 kWh0.06 kWh

Usage of renewable energies

Renewable energy includes wind, solar, biomass and geothermal energy sources. This means all energy sources that renew themselves within a short time or are permanently available. Energy from hydropower is only partly a renewable energy. This is certainly the case with river or tidal power plants. Otherwise, numerous dams or reservoirs also produce mixed forms, e.g. by pumping water into their reservoirs at night and recovering energy from them during the day when there is an increased demand for electricity. Since it is not possible to clearly determine the amount of generated energy, all energy from hydropower is displayed separately.

In 2019, renewable energy accounted for around 68.7 percent of actual total consumption in the Congo. The following chart shows the percentage share from 1990 to 2019:

Renewable energy Congo
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