Nov. 9 (Bloomberg) -- Eni SpA’s plan to extract oil from tar sands in the Republic of Congo may endanger one of the world’s largest tropical rain forests, the Wall Street Journal reported, citing a report by Germany’s Heinrich Boell Foundation to be released today.

The project marks the first time the process of extracting synthetic oil from tar sands has been used outside Canada; Sarah Wykes, one of the report’s authors, said the method is “a particularly dirty, carbon-intensive form of oil production” which was “too high-risk,” the newspaper said.

Eni said there would be no destruction of primary forest, no occupation of farmland, no impact on bio-diverse areas sand no resettlement of people, and no effect on the rain forest, the WSJ added.

Last Updated: November 9, 2009 00:45 EST