DRC minister visits oil sites

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KINSHASA, Democratic Republic of Congo, June 13 (UPI) -- The petroleum minister from the DRC said he was satisfied with what he's seen from a subsidiary of a French energy company working in the country.

Crispin Atama Tabe, the petroleum minister from the Democratic Republic of Congo, visited installations operations by a subsidiary of French energy company Perenco.

Tabe, in a statement published by the energy company, said he was "very satisfied" with operations there.

Perenco, through a $75 million investment in the country, has reached 28,000 barrels of oil per day from production facilities in DRC. The company is the only oil producer in DRC and says it's the largest investor and taxpayer there.

DRC is one of the poorest countries in the world. U.N. officials have expressed concern about the refugee crisis brought on by the April mutiny of a rebel general wanted on war crimes charges by the International Criminal Court.

Advocacy group Global Witness said oil production planned for DRC could complicate the security situation and threaten the environment.