Liberia will feature its 2026 Offshore Direct Negotiation Licensing Round at Africa Energy Week (AEW) 2026 in Cape Town.
The process, led by Liberia Petroleum Regulatory Authority (LPRA), will present 29 offshore blocks with substantial subsurface data package comprising more than 50,000 line-kilometres of two dimensional (2D) seismic and over 31,000 square kilometres of 3D seismic data to international investors during Africa’s largest energy event to run from October 12-16, 2026.
The offering highlights 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.
TGS (for geophysical data) and Core Laboratories (for stratigraphic data) have supported the technical programme, while additional gravity, magnetic, well-log and multi-client datasets provide further information for companies evaluating the acreage
The LPRA’s formal presentation follows months of preparation led by Director General Marilyn T. Logan, including an August 19, 2026 investor day in Houston and the August 28, 2026 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 last formal competitive oil and gas bid round was conducted in August to December 2014 by the National Oil Company of Liberia (NOCAL), which ultimately concluded unsuccessfully due to political disagreements.
In the last five years, the country has replaced the traditional competitive bidding round with an alternative hybrid process called the Direct Negotiation Licencing Round. It was in this context that the 2024 Liberia Direct Negotiation Round was run through the LPRA.
The direct negotiation model allows 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 programmes.
TGS has reprocessed 12,000 kilometres of 2D seismic using Pre-Stack Depth Migration, alongside 5,100 square kilometres of reprocessed 3D data from a 26,000-square kilometre volume. The wider TGS library includes more than 24,000 kilometres of legacy 2D data, strengthening imaging across an offshore frontier where subsurface definition remains central to exploration decisions.
The available Liberia Basin acreage includes LB-1, LB-2, LB-3, LB-7, LB-12, LB-13 and LB-14, while Harper Basin opportunities include LB-18, LB-19, LB-20, LB-21, LB-23, LB-25 and LB-28. Other blocks within the wider 29-block grid are already covered by existing commitments and agreements.
TotalEnergies holds LB-6, LB-11, LB-17 and LB-29, covering approximately 12,700 km2, while Atlas Oranto Petroleum holds LB-15, LB-16, LB-22 and LB-24. PetroQuest holds interests connected to LB-32, while RL-003 covers LB-26, LB-30 and LB-31 and involves TotalEnergies and BluEnergies in a separate study and application arrangement.
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 neighboring 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.
