Monrovia – The President-designate and Chief Govt Officer of the Nationwide Oil Firm of Liberia (NOCAL), Fabian Lai, has outlined steps being taken by the Authorities of Liberia (GOL) to stop international traders from profiteering from Liberia’s oil and gasoline sources to the detriment of the nation and its folks.
By Obediah Johnson
It may be recalled that Oranto Petroleum, owned by Nigerian businessman Arthur Value Eze, was in 2007 awarded three offshore oil blocks — LB 11, 12, and 14 — for US$200,000, however later bought them to Chevron in 2010, reportedly incomes US$200 million from the transaction.
Underneath a brand new association, Oranto and TotalEnergies have collectively been awarded eight oil blocks by the Liberian authorities in an settlement now earlier than the Nationwide Legislature for ratification.
Nonetheless, the deal has sparked severe opposition amongst lawmakers, with former Speaker J. Fonati Koffa and Consultant Musa Hassan Bility amongst these calling for its outright rejection. The lawmakers argue that the deal closely favors international pursuits and will repeat the errors of previous preparations that disadvantaged Liberia of honest advantages from its pure sources.
Showing earlier than the Senate Committee on Hydrocarbon, Power, and Atmosphere on Wednesday, November 5, Lai stated Liberia has discovered beneficial classes from previous errors and is setting up stronger measures to safeguard the oil and gasoline sector for the advantage of Liberians.
“Although we would like extra corporations to speculate, the nation’s curiosity and that of its residents stay paramount,” he instructed the committee. “The Oranto/TotalEnergies settlement at the moment earlier than the Legislature is a mirrored image of this dedication.”
Lai emphasised that the settlement locations sturdy emphasis on environmental safety and neighborhood advantages.
“There are alternative ways our residents will profit via developmental impacts. It’s not going to be a Montserrado-only coaching program. Scholarship alternatives will cowl all 15 counties,” he stated.
“We have to diversify our income streams and be sure that the present influx of sources is protected as we transfer into the long run.”
He added that social welfare contributions shall be made to assist neighborhood tasks throughout the 15 counties, whereas all revenues generated will go to the Consolidated Fund Account, permitting lawmakers to allocate funds for public profit.
Constructing Capability and Selling Native Participation
Lai famous that NOCAL, which oversees 33 oil blocks throughout two basins, stays statutorily chargeable for advertising and selling the basins to draw traders. Nonetheless, he admitted that restricted monetary sources have prevented the corporate from drilling oil wells, making it depending on partnerships with international companies.
He defined that the Liberia Petroleum Regulatory Authority (LPRA) is chargeable for issuing licenses and pre-qualifying corporations primarily based on their monetary and technical capabilities.
In keeping with Lai, the present petroleum settlement prioritizes coaching and improvement for Liberians via a belief fund collectively managed by NOCAL and the Ministry of Finance and Growth Planning. He disclosed that NOCAL can also be collaborating with the Liberia Enterprise Affiliation (LIBA) to arrange native entrepreneurs to take part within the oil and gasoline trade.
Business Viability Nonetheless Unconfirmed
Lai stated Liberia’s oil reservoirs haven’t but been confirmed as commercially viable.
“For the file, we wouldn’t be capable of set up that our reservoir is commercially viable. What we’ve confirmed is that there’s a working petroleum system and a reservoir. Our ongoing exploration packages will decide the industrial potential,” he stated.
He, nonetheless, famous that regional discoveries in Ivory Coast, Ghana, and Senegal have confirmed Liberia’s geological potential, making it a horny vacation spot for future drilling.
“The subsequent greatest oil discovery in a frontier nation that ensures lasting prosperity, power safety, and financial independence for Liberia—my reply is a resolute sure, we do,” he declared.
Imaginative and prescient for NOCAL
Lai outlined his imaginative and prescient to remodel NOCAL into a contemporary, clear, and vertically built-in oil and gasoline firm.
“We’ll evolve from a passive holder of property right into a dynamic engine of nationwide improvement, managing your complete oil and gasoline worth chain for the advantage of each citizen,” he stated.
His plan rests on 5 guiding ideas, together with data-driven sovereignty, stressing that Liberia’s petroleum knowledge is a strategic nationwide asset that should be secured and leveraged.
He pledged to extend authorities possession and maximize nationwide advantages from the oil and gasoline sector whereas attracting a various combine of worldwide and native companions. Coaching and capacity-building packages, he stated, would equip Liberians to compete successfully within the sector.
Amongst his proposed ten strategic focus areas are constructing a complete knowledge library to information knowledgeable decision-making, establishing a centralized geoscience knowledge repository to consolidate seismic and manufacturing data, launching a public knowledge platform for trade stakeholders by his second 12 months in workplace, conducting aggressive worldwide advertising campaigns for Liberia’s oil basins; and coaching greater than 1,000 Liberian professionals over the following 5 years.
Lai additionally referred to as for the declaration of a Nationwide First Oil Goal, aligned with production-readiness timelines, and a brand new coverage framework for exploration modernization inside 12–18 months.
He concluded by saying that any firm in search of to accumulate oil blocks in Liberia can be required to acquire LPRA approval and pay new transaction charges to the federal government.
