Alerte Congolaise pour l’Environnement et les Droits de l’Homme et al. v. Winds Exploration and Production & Symbion Power

Case Status: Ongoing

Issues: Corporate Accountability; Climate Justice and Accountability

Summary: In 2022, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) government put three methane gas blocks up for auction. The blocks are in Lake Kivu, a unique lake whose layers of gas present a risk of a catastrophic explosion that could expose the millions of people living on the shores of the lake to fatal gases. The region has also been a hotbed of conflict for decades. Despite widespread and vocal opposition, the government proceeded with the auction and awarded the blocks to three companies, including two U.S. companies: Symbion Power LLC and Winds Exploration and Production LLC.

Members of the public, along with reporting in the media, have alleged serious violations of Congolese law associated with the auction process and the resulting awards. These allegations include concerns with the fairness of the auction process, improper government conduct and interference, and the government’s failure to conduct environmental and social due diligence required under Congolese law, particularly given the risk that the volatile Lake Kivu might explode.  

Alerte Congolaise pour l’Environnement et les Droits de l’Homme (ACEDH)  and Actions pour la Promotion et Protection des Peuples et Espèces Menacés (APEM),  two not-for-profit organizations based in the DRC, are preparing to file an administrative lawsuit against the Congolese government. The lawsuit will challenge the conduct and outcome of the auction and the concessions awarded, including the concession awarded to Symbion. Applicants believe that the government violated DRC law when awarding the natural gas concessions by, inter alia, failing to conduct or require necessary environmental impact studies and consultations with Indigenous communities, and by awarding winning bids to inexperienced companies that did not fulfill the auction requirements.  

In October 2025, ACEDH and APEM filed petitions pursuant to the Foreign Legal Assistance (FLA) Statute, 28 U.S.C. § 1782, in the Southern District of New York and the Southern District of Texas, with EarthRights’ assistance. Through these petitions, ACEDH and APEM seek to take discovery under 28 U.S.C. § 1782 from Symbion and Winds for use in this anticipated lawsuit. Applicants seek information that would help shed light on the conduct of the auction and the concessions awarded, including all bid documents received from or submitted to the DRC government, any environmental or social assessments, and communications to and from the DRC government.  

In November 2025, Judge Tipton in the Southern District of Texas granted ACEDH and APEM’s requests to take discovery from Winds. EarthRights deposed Winds’ CEO, Franklin Ihekwoaba, in June 2026. The deposition transcript is available here. After Winds only produced a handful of documents, ACEDH and APEM filed a motion to compel Winds to produce the requested evidence in August 2026.  

Symbion opposed the request. In July 2026 Judge Engelmayer in the Southern District of New York granted ACEDH and APEM leave to take discovery from Symbion. He found in ACEDH and APEM’s favor on nearly all of the issues, including that their DRC claims were reasonably contemplated and that Symbion had custody and control over documents held by its foreign affiliates, only ordering a slight narrowing of the requests to exclude “records and personnel information wholly unrelated” to the matter. In September 2026, Symbion produced documents to ACEDH and APEM. 

Already, this FLA has revealed important information regarding financial backing for the corporate entities, irregularities in auction scoring, and the involvement of Nigerian and Israeli companies in the process.