Exxon sets eyes on Liberia prospects after quitting in 2017

Oil major ExxonMobil intends to re-establish itself in Libera’s offshore industry – a country it quit in 2017. 

This renewed interest was surprisingly sparked by Exxon’s success in South America’s newest addition to the oil game – Guyana, according to TGS Energy, Data and Analytics. 

An expert in geological data analytics, TGS said the country’s success “has influenced the potential prospectivity offshore Liberia with a coastline that can be tectonically reconstructed back to fit with the Guyana basin.” 

Exxon’s focus has been on its assets in the Permian and Guyana; it has racked up over 11 billion oil-equivalent barrels in the latter, and recently announced plans to cut down investment in the arctic regions. 

Liberia’s Petroleum Regulatory Authority (LPRA) has received a pre-qualification application from Exxon for four offshore blocks – 15, 16, 22, and 24 – in the Liberia basin. The LPRA is currently reviewing ExxonMobil’s application and when the company has been pre-qualified, the Authority will invite them to negotiate a Production Sharing Contract (PSC) for the blocks.

Direct Negotiation is framed through a 5-phase process including prequalification as outlined in the information package located on the LPRA website. 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.

Exxon’s interest has sparked new hope for oil exploration in Liberia after years of unsuccessful tries. Exxon had drilled the Mersurado well in Liberia Block 9 but did not turn up any discoveries. Chevron and Anadarko Petroleum also tried, came up empty-handed, and eventually left.