Liberia Opens 2026 Oil Licensing Prequalification

MONROVIA, Liberia / HOUSTON, Texas, August 28, 2026 — The Liberia Petroleum Regulatory Authority has opened prequalification for the country’s 2026 Direct Negotiation Petroleum Licensing Round, which is scheduled to launch in the fourth quarter. LPRA Director General Marilyn Logan announced the step at Liberia Investor Day in Houston.

The prequalification period is intended to allow companies to establish eligibility and complete internal reviews before negotiations begin. The authority said applicants will be assessed on technical capacity, financial capability and experience in offshore exploration. Prequalification, once granted, will remain valid for five years.

The LPRA said the round will be conducted through direct negotiation, with terms shaped around the work program proposed by each company. “Frontier exploration requires agreements that can work overtime,” Logan said, describing a framework intended to accommodate companies at different stages of technical and financial readiness.

Liberia’s petroleum data partners — TGS-NOPEC, Core Laboratories and KC Geoscience Consulting — also presented at the event. Representatives from ExxonMobil, TotalEnergies, GeoMark, Woodside Energy, Westlawn, EGES Energy, Westwood Global Energy Group and Welligence Energy Analytics were among those in attendance.

The presentations cited Upper and Lower Cretaceous plays as part of the basin’s prospectivity and said opportunities are not limited to deep water. “Access to data is key to unlocking prospectivity,” said Johnny Chigbo, TGS business development manager, referring to wide-tow acquisition and long offsets used in exploration decisions in the basin.

Liberia’s previous licensing round closed with eight production sharing contracts. The blocks are active, with TotalEnergies advancing exploration programs across LB-06, LB-11, LB-17 and LB-29, and Oranto Petroleum across LB-15, LB-16, LB-22 and LB-24.

The authority said the 2026 round will use published criteria and equal treatment for applicants. Liberia is seeking partners to develop its petroleum system through what officials described as a transparent, rules-based process.