ExxonMobil eyes four offshore blocks in Liberia

The Liberia Petroleum Regulatory Authority (LPRA) has announced that it has received pre-qualification application from ExxonMobil for four offshore blocks in Liberia.

Recently, ExxonMobil expressed interest in Blocks 15, 16, 22 and 24 within the Liberia Basin and the company has now officially applied to be pre-qualified to negotiate for the Blocks, LPRA said.

The LPRA is currently reviewing ExxonMobil’s application and when the company has been pre-qualified, the Authority will invite them to negotiate a Petroleum Sharing Agreement (PSC) for the Blocks.

The Direct Negotiation process is framed through a 5-phase process including prequalification as outlined in the information package located on LPRA website (www.lpra.gov.lr). Interested investors are required to satisfactorily complete each phase before transitioning to the next phase. LPRA will notify the applicants about the successful completion of each phase and approvals and requests to move to the next phase will be expressly communicated to the applicants.

ExxonMobil is one of the world’s largest publicly traded international oil and gas companies. The company has a previous exploration history in Liberia. In 2013 ExxonMobil acquired petroleum rights on the then Block- 13 and drilled the Mesurado-1 Well in 2016.

It may be recalled that in 2021 the Government of Liberia through the LPRA announced its intension to open 33 offshore Blocks in the Harper and Liberia Basin for Direct negotiation.  The Government’s decision to offer blocks through direct negotiations was anchored on many significant factors including the investment climate, the latent impact of the energy transition, COVID-19 and its cascading effect on the sector, but also a developing investor appetite for frontier basins and the current position of Liberia within the oil and gas value chain.