Liberia Offers 29 Offshore Blocks As Search For Oil Intensifies

MONROVIA, LIBERIA – Liberia has renewed efforts to attract international investment into its offshore petroleum sector, offering opportunities to explore 29 offshore blocks across the Liberia and Harper basins as the country seeks to determine whether its waters contain commercially recoverable oil and gas deposits.

Liberian Journalist, Lyndon J. Ponnie, Sr., leafs through the historical background of the program.

The Liberia Petroleum Regulatory Authority (LPRA) announced the 2026 Offshore Direct Negotiation Licensing Round on Wednesday, October 14, during an energy industry event in Cape Town, South Africa.

The initiative is intended to attract international petroleum companies with the financial resources and technical expertise required to investigate Liberia’s offshore geological formations and assess their potential for commercial hydrocarbon discoveries.

The licensing round places renewed attention on two offshore sedimentary basins considered prospective for petroleum exploration along West Africa’s Atlantic margin.

Although Liberia has not established commercial oil production, previous exploration activities have identified hydrocarbons in some offshore wells, providing geological evidence that petroleum systems exist in parts of the country’s offshore territory.

The challenge now is to determine whether those indications can lead to discoveries large enough to support economically viable development.

29 OFFSHORE BLOCKS OFFER EXPLORATION OPPORTUNITIES

The new licensing initiative covers offshore acreage in the Liberia Basin and Harper Basin, where prospective investors will have opportunities to assess geological formations for potential oil and gas accumulations.

Industry information associated with the licensing programme indicates that Liberia’s offshore exploration portfolio includes more than 50,000 line-kilometres of two-dimensional seismic data and more than 31,000 square kilometres of three-dimensional seismic data.

These datasets are important tools in modern petroleum exploration.

Two-dimensional seismic surveys provide broad geological profiles of underground formations, while three-dimensional surveys offer more detailed images that help exploration companies identify potential drilling targets.

Using these resources, petroleum geologists can investigate sedimentary layers, geological structures and other features that may indicate where hydrocarbons could have accumulated.

However, seismic data cannot independently confirm the presence of commercially recoverable oil. Drilling and subsequent technical assessments are necessary to establish whether a prospect contains hydrocarbons in sufficient quantities and under conditions that permit profitable production.

The availability of existing seismic information could help prospective investors assess the acreage and identify areas requiring additional exploration.

LIBERIA BASIN: BUILDING ON DECADES OF EXPLORATION

The Liberia Basin has attracted petroleum exploration for decades, with companies undertaking seismic surveys and drilling offshore wells to investigate the country’s hydrocarbon potential.

Historical exploration produced evidence of hydrocarbons, but previous drilling programmes did not establish commercially viable oil discoveries.

Among the wells drilled offshore Liberia was Montserrado-1 in 2010, which encountered a hydrocarbon-bearing section. Further exploration by African Petroleum in 2012 and 2013 also encountered oil-bearing intervals and indications of hydrocarbons.

These results provided geological information that could help companies understand the petroleum systems beneath Liberia’s offshore waters.

Nevertheless, encountering hydrocarbons is not equivalent to discovering a commercial oilfield. Exploration companies must establish the size, quality and recoverability of any accumulation before deciding whether to proceed with development.

The current licensing initiative offers an opportunity to revisit Liberia’s offshore prospects using available geological information and additional exploration investment.

HARPER BASIN ATTRACTS GEOLOGICAL INTEREST

The Harper Basin is another area of interest in Liberia’s offshore petroleum programme.

Its geological setting has attracted attention because of similarities between parts of West Africa’s Atlantic margin and petroleum-bearing basins elsewhere in the region.

Neighbouring Côte d’Ivoire has made offshore oil and gas discoveries, including the Baleine field, operated by Eni. Such developments have increased industry interest in understanding the petroleum potential of the wider Atlantic margin.

However, the presence of commercially productive petroleum systems in neighbouring countries does not establish that equivalent resources exist in Liberia.

Each basin has its own geological characteristics, and commercial discoveries depend on several factors, including the presence of suitable source rocks, reservoir quality, effective seals, hydrocarbon migration and the preservation of accumulated oil or gas.

The Harper Basin’s potential must therefore be established through geological analysis, seismic interpretation and exploration drilling.

WHAT COULD DETERMINE THE SUCCESS OF THE LICENSING ROUND?

The success of Liberia’s new offshore licensing initiative will depend partly on whether international companies consider the available acreage sufficiently attractive to justify further exploration spending.

Deepwater petroleum exploration requires substantial financial commitments, advanced technology and specialised technical expertise.

Before drilling, companies generally evaluate seismic information, geological models and the risks associated with individual prospects. They must also consider the cost of drilling offshore wells and the likelihood that any discovery could support commercial development.

The 29-block offering provides a framework for attracting companies interested in assessing Liberia’s offshore potential, but the announcement does not establish that every block will receive an investor or proceed to drilling.

The actual availability of individual blocks must also be distinguished from acreage already covered by existing petroleum agreements.

FROM GEOLOGICAL POTENTIAL TO COMMERCIAL DISCOVERY

Liberia’s offshore petroleum prospects remain a subject of exploration rather than established commercial production.

The country has gathered geological data and recorded hydrocarbon indications in earlier wells, but it has yet to establish commercially viable crude oil production.

For a discovery to become commercially significant, exploration companies must determine whether sufficient quantities of oil or gas are present, whether the resources can be extracted safely and economically, and whether the necessary infrastructure and investment can be justified.

A discovery may contain hydrocarbons without being large enough or technically suitable for profitable development.

Conversely, successful exploration could establish resources that support future investment and create opportunities for Liberia to develop an offshore petroleum industry.

The 2026 licensing round is therefore an important step in testing the country’s remaining offshore potential, rather than a guarantee that oil production is imminent.

Liberia’s decision to offer 29 offshore blocks under its 2026 licensing initiative places renewed emphasis on the country’s search for commercially recoverable petroleum resources.

The Liberia and Harper basins provide areas for further geological investigation, supported by existing seismic datasets and information gathered through earlier exploration campaigns.

Previous wells have encountered hydrocarbons, but commercial discoveries have yet to be established.

Whether the latest initiative produces a breakthrough will depend on investor participation, further technical assessment and successful exploration drilling.

For now, Liberia’s offshore acreage represents an opportunity to investigate the country’s petroleum potential. The decisive question is whether that potential can ultimately be converted into commercially recoverable oil and gas resources.