The recent decision by the Government of Liberia to unilaterally allocate oil blocks to the National Oil Company of Liberia (NOCAL) has sent shockwaves through the nation’s political and investment circles, marking a significant regression in the country’s journey toward transparent resource governance. This act of executive overreach is not merely a procedural misstep; it is a direct, flagrant violation of the Amended Petroleum Law of 2019, a piece of legislation specifically crafted to exorcise the ghosts of past corruption and ensure that Liberia’s hydrocarbon wealth serves the public good rather than the narrow interests of a political elite. By circumventing the rigorous mechanisms of oversight mandated by law, the Executive has reopened a Pandora’s box of cronyism that threatens to derail years of institutional reform. Under the strictures of the 2019 Petroleum Law, which serves as the current bedrock for the industry, petroleum rights are not to be handed out at the whim of the presidency.
Instead, the law mandates a structured approach—either through transparent, competitive bidding, formal direct negotiations, or a highly regulated executive allocation (EA) process. Critically, these paths require explicit approval from the Legislature or the formal, documented consent of the Hydrocarbon Committees of both the Liberian Senate and the House of Representatives. This legislative bottleneck was intentionally designed as a firewall against unilateralism. By acting without this essential authorization, the administration has stripped away the public’s ability to monitor these assets, essentially rendering the law a dead letter.
The implications of this are grave. NOCAL, an institution that has faced profound historical challenges regarding its own internal capacity, has been handed responsibility for blocks without demonstrating the required technical or financial competence to operate them. Furthermore, it has failed to present any credible commercial partner that has undergone the mandatory pre-qualification process through the Liberia Petroleum Regulatory Authority (LPRA). When the government bypasses these stages, it creates a vacuum of accountability, leaving the door wide open for backroom dealings that prioritize individual enrichment over national development.
To understand the gravity of this situation, one must reflect on the dark history of the Liberian oil sector. For decades, the industry has been characterized by opacity, with contracts frequently used as instruments of political patronage. The memory of the 2013 Block 13 scandal remains a searing reminder of what happens when governance fails. In that instance, the late Nigerian businessman Arthur Eze secured offshore blocks for a meager $200,000, only to later flip them for a staggering $250 million.
The resulting $200 million profit was, according to extensive reporting by Global Witness, achieved through a process greased by payments to local officials, leaving the Liberian people with little more than the crumbs of their own natural wealth. That Eze—a figure whose name has become synonymous with extractive exploitation across the continent—has resurfaced in the current discourse surrounding these new allocations is deeply alarming. His business model is well-documented: enter a market with low regulatory standards, secure an asset at an undervaluation, and exit with a massive windfall without ever making meaningful investments in local infrastructure or long-term operational capacity. The fact that individuals within the inner circle of the President are actively pushing for his involvement suggests that the lessons of the past have either been forgotten or, more cynically, deliberately discarded.
The individuals allegedly orchestrating these recent maneuvers—a list that includes Joseph Boakai Jr. (JoeJoe), Christopher Neyor, Walter McCarty, Jake Kabakollie, and Prince Moye—represent a troubling intersection of political influence and private interest. Their alleged engagement with figures like Arthur Eze, alongside high-level overtures to global giants such as TotalEnergies, ExxonMobil, and Chevron, suggests an attempt to bypass the formal bid round currently in progress. This bid round was supposed to be a hallmark of a new, transparent Liberia, designed to attract world-class operators capable of bringing actual value to the country.
By introducing an opaque and extralegal allocation process alongside an active, international competitive tender, the government has severely undermined its own credibility. International oil companies, which rely on the rule of law and political stability to justify long-term capital investments, are now confronted with a situation where a signed contract in Liberia may be worth less than the paper it is written on if a more powerful political figure decides to intervene. This erosion of investor confidence will have long-term consequences for the Liberian economy. If the message to the international community is that institutional procedures can be set aside for the benefit of a well-connected clique, then Liberia will be relegated to the bottom of the list for legitimate capital investment.
The social and economic implications for Liberia cannot be overstated. With a large portion of the population living below the poverty line, the promise of oil wealth has long been a source of hope for national development. The Petroleum Law of 2019 was passed specifically to ensure that a portion of these revenues would benefit the citizenry directly, and that the sector would be managed for future generations. When the Executive ignores these laws, it effectively steals that future from the youth of Liberia.
The current trajectory suggests a deliberate move toward the pre-2019 era of "extractive capitalism," where national assets were managed as personal fiefdoms. The involvement of key presidential associates in these behind-the-scenes discussions suggests that the rot is not limited to the peripheries of power but has penetrated the central decision-making apparatus of the state. It is a fundamental betrayal of the trust placed in the Executive by the Liberian people. The question remains: where are the voices of the legislature?
The Hydrocarbon Committees, meant to serve as the guardians of this process, must exert their constitutional mandate and halt these illegal allocations. Silence from these bodies at this juncture would be an indictment of their own commitment to public duty. Furthermore, the Liberian public and civil society must demand transparency. History has shown that when public scrutiny wanes, the risk of corrupt transactions increases exponentially.
The pattern of behavior exhibited by the proponents of this deal—mirroring the same exploitative tactics seen in the Block 13 saga—should be an immediate red flag for any oversight agency. In the broader regional context, West Africa has made significant strides in tightening oil and gas regulations to prevent the exact type of "flip-and-run" schemes that Eze has pioneered. Senegal’s recent rejection of such maneuvers by the same actors demonstrates that regional governments are increasingly aware of the dangers these business models pose to national sovereignty. Liberia, by contrast, risks becoming an outlier, a "wild west" environment for extractive industries where the law serves as a mere suggestion rather than a command.
To restore faith in the system, the government must immediately rescind these allocations and allow the ongoing international bid round to proceed without further executive interference. Any deviation from the legal process must be transparently explained to the public, with full disclosure of the financial and technical capabilities of any entity receiving a concession. The integrity of the Liberia Petroleum Regulatory Authority (LPRA) is currently on the line; if it allows these executive dictates to override the statutes it is sworn to uphold, its relevance as a regulator will be permanently diminished. This unfolding scandal is a litmus test for the administration.
It is a choice between moving toward a modernized, law-based economy that can lift the nation, or sliding back into a period of institutional decay characterized by the "big man" politics that have hindered Liberia for generations. The people of Liberia, and the international community, are watching. The persistence of the 2019 Petroleum Law is the only mechanism that stands between the nation’s resources and the predators who view them solely as a vehicle for private gain. Protecting that law is not just a legal requirement—it is a moral imperative for any government that claims to represent the interests of its citizens.
