By: Staff Writer
Capitol Hill, Monrovia: The Liberian Senate has been accused of squandering a critical opportunity to uphold credibility and best practices in the country’s petroleum sector following the ratification of a Production Sharing Contract (PSC) with Oranto Petroleum.Gbarpolu County Senator Amara M. Konneh, who voted against the Oranto agreement, said the decision sends a dangerous signal that paper guarantees can substitute for proven technical competence in acquiring petroleum rights in Liberia.
In a detailed statement issued after the ratification, Senator Konneh revealed that while he supported the agreement with TotalEnergies, he strongly opposed the Oranto Petroleum deal, despite both contracts being approved by the Legislature.
According to Senator Konneh, a review of the Oranto agreement showed no evidence that the company has successfully carried out frontier-phase petroleum exploration anywhere. Instead, the Executive presented a guarantee from Atlas Petroleum to cover Oranto’s obligations in Liberia—a move he described as setting a risky precedent.He further dismissed claims that Oranto has producing assets in Equatorial Guinea, noting that evidence presented to the Senate showed the producing asset is operated by Atlas Petroleum International, a separate and distinct company.
He warned that approving petroleum rights without verified technical capacity undermines the integrity of Liberia’s petroleum regime.Senator Konneh also raised concern over the restructuring of the mandatory US$15 million signature bonus, which was split into a four-year installment plan instead of being paid upfront. Under the agreement, only US$5 million is payable within four months of ratification, while the remaining US$10 million is tied to future milestones.
He argued that this weakens Liberia’s negotiating position and encourages speculative behavior.Additionally, he cited legal violations in the agreement, pointing out that the Petroleum Law limits exploration periods to seven years, yet Oranto was granted a ten-year exploration window—contrary to statutory provisions and regional best practices.
“This agreement reopens Liberia’s petroleum basin to underqualified companies whose model is to acquire, hold, and flip blocks rather than explore and develop them,” Konneh warned, adding that the deal offers incentives rather than safeguards against such practices.
While emphasizing that his opposition should not be misconstrued as being anti-investment, Senator Konneh stressed that Liberia must pursue partnerships within the bounds of the law and in the national interest.
“History will judge us not by how quickly we approved agreements, but by the standards we upheld when the future of Liberia’s petroleum sector was being shaped,” he concluded, stating that Liberia “can, and must, do better.”
