Upcoming licensing round to offer offshore O&G blocks

Liberia Petroleum Regulatory Authority (LPRA) to Showcase Liberia’s 2026 Offshore Licensing Round in Cape Town

LIBERIA: Liberia will showcase its 2026 Offshore Direct Negotiation Licensing Round at African Energy Week (AEW) 2026 this month when the investment-focused campaign will present 29 offshore blocks, over 80,000 km² of seismic data, and a growing pipeline of corporate interest to international investors

The Liberia Petroleum Regulatory Authority’s (LPRA) formal presentation follows months of preparation led by Director General Marilyn T Logan, including an August 19 investor day in Houston and the August 28 opening of prequalification. Companies are now able to establish their technical and financial eligibility ahead of expressions of interest and block-specific negotiations.

Liberia’s offshore offering spans the Liberia and Harper basins, with available acreage targeting a range of Cretaceous structures, deepwater basin-floor fans and structural closures, with the wider petroleum system sharing geological characteristics with prolific plays across the Atlantic margin.

The round is backed by a substantial subsurface data package comprising more than 50,000 line-km of 2D seismic and over 31,000 km2 of 3D seismic. TGS and Core Laboratories have supported the technical program, while additional gravity, magnetic, well-log and multi-client datasets provide further information for companies evaluating the acreage.

TGS has reprocessed 12,000 km of 2D seismic using Pre-Stack Depth Migration, alongside 5,100 km2 of reprocessed 3D data from a 26,000-km2 volume. The wider TGS library includes more than 24,000 km of legacy 2D data, strengthening imaging across an offshore frontier where subsurface definition remains central to exploration decisions.

The available Liberia Basin acreage includes seven blocks, while Harper Basin opportunities include another seven. Other blocks within the wider 29-block grid are already covered by existing commitments and agreements with companies including TotalEnergies, Atlas Oranto Petroleum, PetroQuest and BluEnergies.

Activity around LB-32 has provides a fresh indication of corporate interest ahead of the AEW launch. Australian independent Bounty Oil & Gas agreed on September 22 to acquire 100% of PetroQuest Liberia Deep Water, which holds an exclusive letter of engagement with the National Oil Company of Liberia to negotiate a PSC for the Harper Basin block.

The Harper Basin’s geological setting is also attracting attention because of its relationship to neighbouring Ivory Coast’s offshore petroleum system. Eni’s Baleine and Calao discoveries have demonstrated the wider prospectivity of the regional margin, while companies including Petrobras and Murphy Oil are pursuing comparable Upper Cretaceous deepwater plays elsewhere in the region.

Liberia’s licensing process uses a direct negotiation model, allowing qualified companies to advance individual technical and commercial prospects. The process operates under Liberia’s 2014 Petroleum Exploration and Production Act and its 2019 amendments, while resulting PSCs require signatures from both the LPRA and Ministry of Finance and Development Planning. Companies are assessed on technical capability, financial strength and offshore experience before progressing into negotiations over proposed exploration programs.

With prequalification now open and valid for five years, companies can establish their eligibility ahead of the licensing round and be prepared to move quickly when new opportunities are launched.

PHOTO: Liberia Investor Day in Houston during August, brought together LPRA leadership, government representatives, international operators, investors and geoscience experts to explore Liberia’s growing offshore investment opportunities.