 |
| A map of Liberia showing the 30 oil blocks |
Off-shore oil exploration has begun in seven of Liberia’s 15 counties with 10 oil blocks being explored by foreign oil companies. As per data posted by the Liberia’s National Oil Company (NOCAL) on its website, block 8 is situated off the coast of Sinoe, block 9 off the coast of RiverCess and Sinoe, block 10 off the coast of River Cess, block 11 & 12 off the coast of Grand Bassa, block 13 off the coast of Margibi & Grand Bassa, block 14, off the coast of Margibi and Montserrado, block 15 off the coast of Montserrado and Bomi, block 16 off the coast of Bomi and Grand Cape Mount and block 17 is off the coast of Grand Cape Mount.
For now, these are the 10 blocks that have been leased out, with an additional 20 blocks left open. NOCAL is yet to say in which counties the 20 blocks are situated and when the public might expect exploration in these areas.
The big question is, what becomes of, say Lofa, that is landlocked and [in case] it has no onshore oil? How then, would the people of that densely populated county access corporate social benefits being dished out by oil companies to counties with oil? In the contemporary context, on the have-not list are Bong, Lofa, Maryland, Grand Gedeh, Nimba, Gbarpolu, RiverGee and Grand Kru counties. What if none of these above-listed counties has any oil of its own, and is not positioned to reap indirect benefits, (i.e. transportation contracts) from the industry? Are there any plans in store for them?
For now, these are the 10 blocks that have been leased out, with an additional 20 blocks left open. NOCAL is yet to say in which counties the 20 blocks are situated and when the public might expect exploration in these areas.
The big question is, what becomes of, say Lofa, that is landlocked and [in case] it has no onshore oil? How then, would the people of that densely populated county access corporate social benefits being dished out by oil companies to counties with oil? In the contemporary context, on the have-not list are Bong, Lofa, Maryland, Grand Gedeh, Nimba, Gbarpolu, RiverGee and Grand Kru counties. What if none of these above-listed counties has any oil of its own, and is not positioned to reap indirect benefits, (i.e. transportation contracts) from the industry? Are there any plans in store for them?
NOCAL president and CEO, Dr. Randolph McClain, has dismissed any suggestion that oil resources would belong to any particular county.
Replying to the Daily Observer’s question yesterday, en route to Robertsfield to board a plane for an official visit to Houston, Texas, Dr. McClain declared that “the country’s oil resources belong to no individual or county in particular, but to the country and its people.
“Our position has been that this resource belongs to the whole country,” he asserted, adding that the resource won’t be distributed on a county-to-county basis simply “because a [county] is close to the shores. That is why we don’t have any counties listed on the [oil] map. What we have there is the map of Liberia because this resource belongs to the whole country,” he emphasized.
The Liberia Basin consists of thirty concessionary blocks. Seventeen of these blocks are from the continental shelf to water depths of between 2500 to 4000 meters. Thirteen of the blocs are considered “ultra deep” with water depths of as much as 4500 meters, according to the NOCAL website. The country is doing all in its power to harness its hydrocarbon potentials and join the league of African oil producers. At the moment, the prospect of an oil find offshore is high, despite having had dry wells during early exploration.
Two of the country’s oil blocks are undergoing rigorous exploration. Chevron (45%), Oranto (30%) and ENI (25%) are busy searching for commercial oil in block 14 that is situated off the coasts of Margibi and Montserrado counties. The block is in its first exploration period, with one well commitment slated for 2014 by its operator, Chevron Liberia. It has an exclusive exploitation authorization of 25 years. As per the production sharing contract, the country will benefit 35% share if the production rate falls between 0 to 100,000 barrels, while the operators would get 65%. Also, as provided for in the contract, in case 100,000 to 150,000 barrels are found, the country gets to carry 47% while the operators get 53%. If 150,000 barrels or more were discovered, the country would get 55% while the companies get 45%. At the same time, Liberia will get 30% share in case natural gas is found while the companies carry 70%.
Oil block 15 is being operated by Anadarko (47.5%), Mitsubishi (27.5%) and Repsol (25%). The block is situated off the coast of Montserrado and Bomi counties. It is in its second exploration period with 75% of initial delimited area retained with one exploration well drilled, NOCAL has said.
As per the production sharing contract, Liberia gets to gain 40% of the oil discovery if the production rate is between 0 to 100,000 barrels. In that case, the contractor carries 60%. Both parties get to split the share on a 50 – 50 basis if the production rate falls within 100,000 to 150,000 barrels. Liberia stands to benefit 60% of the share if the production rate is 150,000 barrels, while the block operator gets 40%. Also, the country stands to benefit 30% in case natural gas is found, while the block’s owner gets 70%.
The second-phase of this block’s exploration commenced on June 23, 2012. According to NOCAL, Anadarko continues to conduct more G&G research on block LB-15, which includes geological evaluations and geophysical mapping incorporating all wells and seismic data available to the operator and partners. The work will also include post-well analysis on the Montserrado-1 well, which was drilled during the first phase of exploration. This work was expected to be completed by the end of the first quarter of 2013.
No comments:
Post a Comment