KEY POINTS
- TotalEnergies has signed four production sharing contracts with Liberia covering 12,700 km² of offshore acreage, signaling renewed investor interest.
- The deals follow reforms and a 2024 licensing round that aimed to make Liberia’s hydrocarbon sector more transparent and competitive.
- Liberia hopes the contracts will unlock large-scale oil discoveries, generate jobs and reposition the nation as a West African exploration hotspot.
TotalEnergies SE has signed four production sharing contracts with Liberia, marking a major step in the country’s efforts to revive offshore oil exploration and lure back big-ticket investment.
The deals, awarded after Liberia’s 2024 Direct Negotiation Licensing Round, cover blocks LB-6, LB-11, LB-17 and LB-29 in the southern Liberia basin.
Together they span about 12,700 square kilometers—territory geologists describe as high-potential, oil-prone acreage that could deliver discoveries of scale.
Liberia, which has long dangled its untapped hydrocarbon potential before foreign investors, is now beginning to see commitments materialize.
Officials say the contracts are part of a broader strategy to monetize offshore resources, attract international players and position the nation as a new frontier in West Africa’s oil story.
Government Reforms and Investor Confidence
The signing is being hailed as evidence of growing confidence in Liberia’s energy reforms. The government amended its Exploration & Production Law in 2019 to improve transparency and competitiveness, including terms like 100% cost recovery on pre-PSC seismic data.
That, coupled with last year’s licensing round that put 29 blocks on offer across both the Liberia and Harper basins, created an opening for majors like TotalEnergies.
Industry observers note that Liberia’s approach contrasts with earlier years of stalled progress. NJ Ayuk, Executive Chairman of the African Energy Chamber, called the move “a resurgence of Liberia as a competitive frontier for oil and gas investment.” He added that TotalEnergies’ entry could spur jobs, discoveries and long-term sustainable development in the country.
The French major plans to start with a 3D seismic survey, part of a work program designed to sharpen the geological picture of the blocks.
That builds on an already sizable dataset: Liberia’s partnership with energy data firm TGS has yielded more than 24,000 square kilometers of 2D and 26,000 square kilometers of 3D seismic imaging.
Such data, combined with the country’s stratigraphy—ranging from syn-rift Lower Cretaceous to deepwater Upper Cretaceous intervals—makes the basin more attractive than in past decades.
