This article attempts to explain the origins and the evolution of an apparently unnatural partnership between a state claiming to be inspired by Marxism and a foreign company hailing from the homeland of the former colonial master. ELF-ERAP resumed its oil operations in the Congo in the midst of troubled political and economic circumstances. This article strives to identify ELF-ERAP’s strategy as it interacted with a demanding vis-à-vis, one intent on applying methods developed in the socialist countries. Although it was tense and unstable, cooperation was achieved between these two apparently non-complementary partners.