Residents of Kitombe, in southwestern Democratic Republic of Congo, accuse multinational oil giant Perenco, controlled by the French Perrodo family, of causing severe air and soil pollution linked to oil extraction activities.Villagers reported respiratory problems, dizziness, diarrhea and crop failures after a major gas release from a crude oil storage facility in April 2025.A parliamentary investigation supported residents’ claims and flagged missing evidence at the site after the incident.One year later, communities say they received no medical support or compensation and environmental remediation hasn’t been done. Frustrated residents blocked access roads to Perenco facilities in May, temporarily disrupting oil operations.
“I had diarrhea and dizziness. Food no longer tasted the same. … I wasn’t the only one who noticed it — it was the same for everyone in the village; we couldn’t breathe,” Benoît Packera, secretary of the vigilance committee of Kitombe, told Mongabay. He was recounting what happened in April 2025, when toxic gases were released by a Perenco facility in southwestern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).
The committee raised the alarm about the impacts, which led to a parliamentary commission visiting the area and confirming the existence of pollution in a report. Things went quiet for a while. Perenco continued its flaring operations and the residents claimed they did not receive any treatments or compensation. In May this year, Frustrated residents blocked access roads to Perenco facilities, temporarily disrupting oil operations.
