The NEWS (Monrovia)
Moses M. Zangar, Jr
2 February 2004
Monrovia — Liberia has joined several countries worldwide including 17 African countries in announcing bid rounds for possible oil exploration. .
The National Oil Company of Liberia (NOCAL) announced its 2004 offshore bid round for exploration of oil in the country Sunday.
The announcement follows a visit to the United States(Houston, Texas) by Cllr. F. Musah Dean, Jr., President and Chief Executive Officer of the National Oil Company of Liberia, Willis Knuckles, Jr., Chairman of the Board of Directors and a Geophysicist Cletus Wotorson who is also a member the Board.
A release quotes the NOCAL as saying that the offshore bid round is a giant step in the development of Liberia's hydrocarbon program.
The bid round closes on November 1 this year, and it is intended to afford oil companies the opportunity to submit bids.
Accordingly, successful candidates would be licensed to undertake further exploration in Liberia's deep water to determine whether the country has oil.
The process is expected to take between three to five years and bids evaluation would be done on a competitive basis pursuant to international standards in the industry.
The history of petroleum exploration in Liberia, according to NOCAL, dates back as far as 1948. Four wells were drilled in Liberia between 1948 and 1972.
In 1980, a US$5.0 million loan agreement between the Liberian Government and the World Bank became effective.
Consequently, the Ministry of Lands, Mines and Energy commissioned J.C. Ferrand and Associates, an internationally reputable consulting firm, based in Houston, Texas, to conduct the assessment of hydrocarbon potential in Liberia.
Following the successful completion of the assessment study, AMOCO Liberia Exploration Company was awarded four offshore permits in 1983 for petroleum exploration in the country.
Between 1983 and 1984, AMOCO conducted an extensive seismic survey and drilled three exploratory wells offshore. The company's analyses then revealed no discovery of commercial deposits.
However, oil shows, good reservoirs and source rocks identified in the wells indicate the possible existence of hydrocarbon accumulation. In June of 1986, AMOCO pulled out of all its acreage and in March, 1989, relinquished all blocks.
In April 2000, the National Oil Company of Liberia was established pursuant to an Act of the Legislature for the purpose of "holding all of the rights, title and interest of the Republic of Liberia in the deposits and reserves of liquid and gaseous hydrocarbons within the territorial limits of the Republic of Liberia, whether potential, proven, or actual, with the aim of facilitating the development of the oil and gas industry in the Republic of Liberia."
At the start of 2000, under the auspices of NOCOL, TGS-NOPEC, a geophysical company based in Houston, USA conducted a 2-D seismic survey which covered a large portion of the offshore southern Liberia shelf and slope.
During this survey, the company acquired about 9,500km of seismic data from the entire offshore area, including the deep water area of the country.
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