British oil company Soco International has denied allegations that it paid for an official Congolese government delegation to go to a UN meeting where talks were being held on whether its exploratory work in Africa's oldest national park should be allowed.



Half the world’s surviving mountain gorillas live in the huge Virunga world heritage site which has been designated by the Unesco as being of “importance to the common heritage of humanity”.



Following protests from the UN, conservation groups and the British government at Soco’s seismic testing near Lake Edward, the company pledged last week to end its surveys within 30 days and to commission no further work unless Unesco and the Congolese government “agree that such activities are not incompatible with world heritage status”.

A leaked statement by the Congolese environment ministry, posted on the blog of a documentary about Virunga, suggested that Soco would be paying the costs of the Congolese official delegation for this month’s Unesco meeting on world heritage sites in Doha. The party of eight, which included the director of national parks and a consultant who has worked for Soco, were to stay for 16 days.



The Vitshumbi fishing village on the southern shores of Lake Edward is in the 'Block V' area of Virunga national park. Soco International wants to explore for oil underneath the park, which is Africa's oldest and a world heritage site. Photograph: Brent Stirton/WWF-Canon/Getty Images Photograph: Brent Stirton/WWF-Canon/Getty Images

A spokesman for Soco in London did not deny the authenticity of the letter but said the company had not paid the costs of the delegation to go. “It was definitely not paid for by Soco in any way. A request [for Soco to pay for the delegation] was made by the ICCN [the Congolese Institute for the Conservation of Nature, the government national parks authority] in May but was politely turned down,” he said.

Asked whether Soco has anything in writing to show that the company had rejected the government invitation to pay for the delegation, Soco said: “This letter on the website [of the Virunga documentary] is not addressed to Soco. Communications were made.”

A further leaked letter from the head of Soco’s Congolese company in Kinshasa to the prime minister of Congo DRC states that press reports that Soco was pulling out of exploring for oil were “inaccurate”.

“We wish to clarify that as soon as phase one of this exploration is completed ... Soco will process and interpret the data set and we will be able to determine mid-2015 if there are areas to be drilled so that the DRC government [can] take all appropriate steps to continue or not this exploration,” it says.

The possibility that the DRC government could work with Unesco to redraw the park boundaries to allow for oil exploration was raised last week when Soco deputy CEO Roger Cagle said in London: ”It [exploring for oil in Virunga] forces DRC and Unesco to come to some kind of accommodation, as has been demonstrated in many other places where they have accommodated things in world heritage sites by redrawing boundaries”.

Recovering hippo populations close to the ICCN Ranger station in Lulimibi, Lake Edward. It once housed the largest hippo population in the world, but the numbers have declined drastically since 1994. Photograph: Brent Stirton/WWF-Canon/Getty Images Photograph: Brent Stirton/WWF-Canon/Getty Images

A spokesman for the Congolese government said it could not yet issue a full reaction. "The reaction will be made officially at due time as many ministries are involved on those issues [redrawing the boundaries]."



Unesco confirmed from Doha that it would be possible for the Virunga world heritage site boundaries to be redrawn.

“Boundary changes happen all the time. They are quite common. Bits are often added to parks to add integrity. The Australians want to chop a bit off the Tasmanian Wilderness world heritage site. It is certainly possible to redraw boundaries,” said a spokeswoman.

She added: “But it [oil exploitation in Virunga] would set an extraordinary precedent. Virunga is Africa’s oldest park. The international reaction would be enormous.”

A spokesman for Soco in London denied that the company was in any way lobbying to have the Congolese government to redraw the Virunga world heritage site boundaries.

“Soco has no involvement. Redrawing of park boundaries has nothing to do with Soco. It’s entirely up to the DRC and Unesco to decide,” said a spokesman.

“Soco should tell the public if it intends to pull the plug on oil exploration in Virunga or not. We want a clear commitment from them that they will respect the existing park boundaries,” said Nat Dyer, a campaigner for Global Witness.

In Doha this week, a committee of 21 countries called on the Congo DRC to end the prospect of oil exploitation in Virunga national park.

The committee said oil, gas and mineral exploration and exploitation are incompatible with world heritage status and urged all oil companies to commit not to explore or exploit in any world heritage sites.

The Unesco spokeswoman added: "There is a procedure for states parties to request a change in the boundaries of a world heritage site. Such proposals are evaluated to assess the impact on the outstanding universal value for which the site was inscribed. Most proposals for boundary changes concern additions aimed at strengthening the integrity of the property. A decision can only be made by the world heritage committee based on this thorough evaluation process.



"For Virunga national park in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, no boundary modification request has been submitted. The committee at its present session reiterated its position that any oil exploration or exploitation inside Virunga would be incompatible with its world heritage status."



• This article was amended on 23 June 2014. In the earlier version, a quote from a Unesco spokeswoman mistakenly included a reference to the Great Barrier Reef when it was the Tasmanian Wilderness world heritage site she had actually referred to. Also, two further paragraphs of quotes from the Unesco spokeswoman were appended to the article to clarify its position on the Virunga national park and the process for boundary changes to world heritage sites.

