Liberian officials dumped US energy interest to favor a Nigerian billionaire who corrupted the country’s virgin oil industry nearly two decades ago.
Former House Speaker Fonati Koffa raised the RedFlag while taking caustic dig at the Joseph Boakai government for downplaying US company wanting to develop the hydrocarbon sector.
The government has denied oil supermajor ExxonMobil exploration licenses to operate lucrative oil blocks in its offshores basin.
“If knowing how to use power means taking an oil deal from an American company, ExxonMobil, and giving it to one corrupt man so that a few can benefit, we don’t want to know that kind of power,” Koffa said in a rebuke to rival criticism that his Congress for Democratic Change party was measured with the application of power when it governed the West African Nation between 2018 and 2024.
Liberia granted offshore exploration and production-sharing contracts for four blocks to Atlas/Oranto Petroleum International Ltd., a privately held company controlled by Nigerian businessman Arthur Eze, a move that has sidelined interest from U.S. oil major ExxonMobil and reignited questions about transparency and governance in the country’s nascent oil sector.
President Joseph Boakai announced on Sept. 22 those exploratory rights for Blocks LB-15, LB-16, LB-22 and LB-24 in the Liberian Basin had been awarded to Atlas/Oranto in a ceremony held in Paris.
The deals include a reported signature bonus of roughly US$15–16 million and envisage about US$200 million of investment per block if exploration advances to development.
The Liberia Petroleum Regulatory Authority (LPRA) confirmed the signing of the four production-sharing contracts in September, saying the move marks a key step toward reviving upstream activity after more than a decade of dormancy.
ExxonMobil had formally applied in April 2023 to pre-qualify for the same blocks under Liberia’s direct negotiation framework.
“We filed a pre-qualification application with the Liberia Petroleum Regulatory Authority for offshore blocks. As a matter of practice, we don’t comment on commercial strategy,” an Exxon official said in response to questions about its interest.
Exxon previously operated in Liberia, acquiring rights to Block 13 in 2013 and drilling the Mesurado1 well in 2016. That well encountered 118 metres of reservoir quality sands but did not find hydrocarbons; Exxon plugged and abandoned the well and relinquished its Liberia interests in 2017.
The newly signed PSCs come as Liberia seeks to balance the potential economic upside of hydrocarbons with environmental, social and governance (ESG) expectations from financiers and the global market.
The LPRA and the presidency considered the deals as a milestone in reopening Liberia’s long idle hydrocarbons industry. Whether the contracts will translate into sustained investment, reliable revenue and broad-based development depends on how the parties manage exploration risk, regulatory compliance and public accountability in the coming months.
