TotalEnergies and partner BluEnergies are stepping up exploration off Liberia’s coast, betting that fresh seismic and seabed data from the Harper Basin will help turn a cluster of prospects into a commercial oil discovery.
The companies are carrying out a work program across the LB-26, LB-30 and LB-31 blocks to sharpen drillable targets in the frontier basin, according to a statement.
The effort includes reprocessing 6,167 square kilometers of 3D seismic data, with more than half already completed, as well as marine surveys aimed at identifying seabed features and possible hydrocarbon seepage.
BluEnergies said the program is focused on improving the definition of the original 3D survey acquired in 2013 and strengthening the prospect inventory ahead of future drilling decisions.
The data work is being done by TGS, while GeoPartners is conducting a multibeam echo sounder survey covering 4,045 square kilometers in waters ranging from 500 meters to 3,500 meters deep.
The surveys are designed to help map underwater terrain, detect anomalies and support safer placement of exploration wells. The R/V Gyre vessel, operated by TDI-Brooks, began acquiring the MBES data on June 19, 2026, with completion expected in the third quarter, according to the statement.
“The West Africa Transform Margin, where the Harper basin is located, and its conjugate South American Margin are regions where basin floor fan plays are being actively and successfully explored, developed and produced,” BluEnergies Vice President of Exploration Sergio Laura said in the statement.
The company pointed to recent discoveries and licensing activity along Africa’s west coast, including Ghana’s Jubilee field, Namibia’s Venus discovery and finds offshore Ivory Coast, as evidence that the play concept is working in comparable basins.
Beyond seismic imaging, the program includes seabed geochemical sampling through piston coring and heat-flow measurements to assess the basin’s thermal history and identify signs of migrated hydrocarbons.
BluEnergies said those efforts should be completed by the fourth quarter of 2026, feeding into a refined reinterpretation of the block’s leads.
The Harper Basin sits on the West Africa Transform Margin, a frontier area where explorers are increasingly seeking basin-floor fan systems that have underpinned several of the region’s biggest deepwater successes.
– Festus Poquie
