MONROVIA – Liberia is poised to accrue tangible benefits, as the Government of Liberia (GoL) moves to initiate major development deals worth billions of dollars.
Recently, President Joseph Boakai communicated with the Liberian Senate seeking the Legislature’s ratification of three major investment agreements already signed by the Executive Branch of the GoL.
When ratified, these investment agreements or Production Sharing Contracts (PSCs) will deliver tangible development benefits such as employment opportunities for both qualified citizens and unskilled Liberians.
In President Boakai’s communication to the Senate, the Liberian leader informed the lawmakers to expeditiously act on eight new offshore Petroleum Sharing Contracts with one of the world’s leading energy giants, TotalEnergies EP Liberia B.V. and Atlas Oranto Petroleum Ltd.
According to the Liberian leader, these investment deals with TotalEnergies and Atlas Oranto Petroleum represent Liberia’s first petroleum agreements in over a decade under the 2024 Direct Negotiation Licensing Round.
TotalEnergies secured blocks LB-06, LB-11, LB-17, and LB-29, while Atlas Oranto Petroleum was awarded blocks LB-15, LB-16, LB-22, and LB-24.
President Boakai emphasized that these PSCs are aligned with his administration’s ARREST Agenda for Inclusive Development (AAID), which prioritizes economic revitalization, job creation, and enhancement of social services across the nation.
The TotalEnergies and Atlas Oranto Petroleum deals will ensure that both companies prioritize the employment of qualified Liberians in all aspects of their petroleum operations.
The companies shall also reserve exclusively for the employment of Liberians, all unskilled laborers positions within Liberia, as well as onboard vessels or equipment stationed within Liberia or on its waters.
The companies will also provide training and capacity-building opportunities for Liberians, as well as make available monies toward the country’s Energy Development Fund, and pay annual administrative fees, and signature bonuses to the Liberian government.
Upon commencement of the first exploration well, both companies shall each allocate US$200,000 annually during the exploration and appraisal period, and US$1 million annually following approval of a development and production plan.
According to the terms of the deals, it’s binding upon TotalEnergies and Atlas Oranto Petroleum that both companies make available social and welfare contributions in the tune of US$175,000 annually during the exploration and appraisal period, and US$ 500,000 annually following approval of a development and production plan.
An annual contribution of US$500,000 shall be made by both companies toward the country’s Energy Development Fund, and similar amount made available to the Liberia Petroleum Regulatory Authority (LPRA), as annual administrative fee per contract year.
TotalEnergies will pay a total of US$3 million for each of the four oil blocks it has secured, while the company will also pay to the LPRA a total signature bonus amounting to US$400,000.
Other monies TotalEnergies is expected to pay include US$2.6 million, into the GoL consolidated account, and two separate payments of US$1.25 million respectively.
For Atlas Oranto Petroleum, the company will pay for each of its four acquired oil blocks, US$1.25 million, and a total signature bonus of US$400,000 to the LPRA, US$850,000 into GoL’s consolidated account, and separate payments of US$1.25 respectively.
Meanwhile, in a separate communication to the Liberian Senate, President Boakai called the legislators’ attention to a US$1.8 billion deal with Ivanhoe Atlantic, formerly HPX.
The Ivanhoe Atlantic deal signed in July 2025 covers the rehabilitation and operation of the Yekepa to Buchanan railway for iron ore exports from Guinea.
Ivanhoe Atlantic will use the railway, which belongs to Liberia and not just Nimba, Bong, and Bassa Counties, until the ArcelorMittal Liberia concession expires in 2030.
The Liberian leader, in his letter to the Senate, wrote that Ivanhoe has already paid US$37 million in advance to the previous administration headed by ex-president George Weah of the CDC.
Gbarpolu Senator Amama Konneh, a ranking member of the Liberian Senate, has described these development investment agreements as being ones that mark significant progress in attracting strategic foreign investment and revitalizing key sectors of the country’s economy, declaring his support for the deals.
“These investments are vital to strengthening Liberia’s fiscal base, increasing Liberian participation, and creating meaningful employment opportunities, especially for our youth,” Konneh wrote on his Facebook handle at the weekend.