By Festus Poque
Liberia’s largely unexplored Harper Basin is emerging as a potentially significant deepwater petroleum frontier, with an independent assessment estimating as much as 17.9 billion barrels of unrisked prospective oil resources and 28.8 trillion cubic feet of natural gas across seven mapped basin-floor fan systems.
If exploration confirms even a meaningful portion of those estimates and the resources prove commercially recoverable, the Harper Basin could fundamentally alter Liberia’s position in Africa’s oil and gas industry.
The scale of the estimates alone would put Liberia’s potential oil resources in the same broad conversation as some of the continent’s established producers, while the gas estimate would exceed the reported proven reserves of several major African gas producers.
For instance, the gas estimate alone would be greater than the current reserves of Angola (13.5 Trillion Cubic Feet), the Republic of Congo(10.1 Trillion Cubic Feet),and Equatorial Guinea (5 Trillion Cubic Feet), although it would still trail Africa’s largest established gas-resource holders such as Nigeria (206.5 Trillion Cubic Feet) and Algeria (159.1 Trillion Cubic Feet).
Successful confirmation of resources on anything approaching the upper end of the estimate could give Liberia a potential resource base far larger than its current petroleum footprint.
It could also place the country alongside established West and Central African oil producers such as Angola, Congo and Equatorial Guinea in terms of resource potential—not current production.
The figures, however, are prospective rather than discovered or proven reserves. The Harper Basin remains undrilled, meaning considerable geological, technical and commercial uncertainty remains before the resources can be considered recoverable reserves.
The Harper Basin covers about 8,924 square kilometers across offshore Blocks LB-26, LB-30 and LB-31 under Reconnaissance License RL-003. TotalEnergies is leading the project with a 65% interest, alongside BluEnergies with 35%.
The partnership is now advancing a program designed to reduce the geological risks that have historically deterred deepwater exploration offshore Liberia, according to companies.
