Liberia says it has made its upstream fiscal regulatory regime very flexible to encourage and woo investors into the country to explore its hydrocarbon.
The Ivorian neighbour has 33 offshore oil blocks readily available for prospective oil and gas investors and hopes to exploit these hydrocarbon resources for the development of the country.
The Director-General of Liberian Petroleum Regulatory Authority (LPRA), Archie Donmo told energynewsafrica.com on the sidelines of the Africa Oil Week in Dubai UAE, that the country is seeking direct negotiation for these offshore oil blocks.
He said they are currently negotiating with two international oil companies who have shown interest in some of the blocks and hope to complete the negotiation by May 31, 2022.
Explaining how to acquire an oil block, Mr Donmo said the interested party or entities would first have to send a letter of intent (LoI) and “we will pre-qualify the bidder.”
Asked why Liberia has made its fiscal regime flexible, Archie Donmo noted that exploratory activities have become limited at the moment because of the energy transition.
With this in mind and because Liberia is a frontier country, Archie Donmo said investors are looking to invest in countries that are already producing “so when you are a frontier country, you don’t make things tough…you make things easier to encourage investors to come.
“We have reduced our fiscal terms to something appreciable to encourage investors,” he said.
He said investors are welcomed to Liberia, assuring them that the environment is conducive for business.
Source: https://energynewsafrica.com