The Republic of the Congo, a long-time oil producer, still imports 40 percent of its fuels and aims to double its crude oil production to 500,000 barrels per day by 2030. To reduce this reliance, the country is focusing on modernizing the Congolese Refinery (CORAF), the only oil refinery in the nation. In 2022, a project was announced to upgrade CORAF, and it has now reached a technical milestone with the start of a preliminary engineering phase known as Pre-FEED. This step will help outline the technical design, scope, and requirements for the modernization before more detailed planning begins. The project is part of an agreement signed in April 2024 in Baku, Azerbaijan, between SOCAR, a state-owned oil company, and the National Petroleum Company of the Congo (SNPC). SOCAR Downstream, a subsidiary of SOCAR, will manage the project and oversee the work on behalf of the SNPC. The state-owned SNPC holds full ownership of CORAF, which has been in operation since 1982. Four years ago, the SNPC announced its intention to invest in upgrading CORAF to cover 85 percent of the country’s fuel needs. According to a report from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) published in July 2025, CORAF currently supplies an average of 60 percent of the country's annual fuel consumption. The same report estimates that the government spends about 1.8 percent of its gross domestic product (GDP) annually to support the refinery, on average from 2018 to 2023. The IMF suggested that the government should reassess the importance of CORAF, given its aging infrastructure and limited capacity, and prepare a plan to gradually reduce its financial support. Funding remains a major challenge, according to Patrice K'Yao, a deputy general administrator of CORAF, as reported by Argus Media in April. Maixent Raoul Ominga, the general director of the SNPC, had been seeking partners and financial backing as early as December 2022, as noted in an interview with La Semaine Africaine. In addition to upgrading CORAF, the Republic of the Congo is also building a second refinery in Fouta, near Pointe-Noire, in partnership with the Chinese firm Beijing Fortune Dingheng Investment. The project is estimated to cost around 600 million dollars. Initially scheduled to be completed by the end of 2025, the deadline has been pushed back to 2027, according to officials speaking at the Congo Energy & Investment Forum. Recently, a delegation from the SNPC, led by Maixent Raoul Ominga, visited the Dangote refinery in Lagos, Nigeria, at the end of June. The two parties discussed the possibility of supplying refined products to the Congo, as reported by Channels TV on July 1. However, no formal agreement was reached, according to Agence Ecofin on July 2. Currently, CORAF processes about 21,000 barrels of crude oil per day, according to data from the Energy Information Administration (EIA). This output is far below the country’s needs, highlighting the urgency of the modernization efforts and the need for additional refineries. The government’s ability to secure funding and partnerships will be crucial in achieving its goal of reducing fuel imports and increasing domestic oil production.