MONROVIA – Mounting concerns over transparency and regulatory compliance in Liberia’s emerging petroleum sector have triggered a fresh legislative challenge in the Senate. Senators Amara Konneh and Jonathan Boye Charles Sogbie are demanding immediate action over controversial oil-related agreements signed by the National Oil Company of Liberia (NOCAL), warning that failure to uphold the Petroleum Law could undermine investor confidence, weaken oversight institutions, and jeopardize the long-term governance of the country’s natural resources.
Two members of the Liberian senate have made a clarion call for urgent legislative intervention into what they describe as potentially unlawful petroleum agreements signed by the National Oil Company of Liberia (NOCAL), warning that the controversy threatens the integrity of Liberia’s resource governance framework and the rule of law in the energy sector.
Senator Amara Konneh of Gbarpolu County and Senator Jonathan Boye Charles Sogbie of River Gee County have formally called on the Liberian Senate to immediately suspend and investigate oil-related contracts entered into by NOCAL with two foreign firms, GeoPartners and Searcher.
The lawmakers contend that the agreements allegedly authorize the companies to conduct petroleum reconnaissance activities in Liberia without obtaining the mandatory licenses from the Liberia Petroleum Regulatory Authority (LPRA), a requirement they say is clearly established under the 2014 Petroleum (Exploration and Production) Act.
According to a social media post from Senator Konneh who made the call public, Section 11.1 of the Petroleum Law explicitly vests the authority to issue reconnaissance licenses in the LPRA. The provision states that companies seeking to conduct surveys aimed at assessing geological, geophysical, geochemical, and geotechnical characteristics of designated areas must first apply to and receive authorization from the regulatory authority.
In a communication addressed to Senate Plenary, the lawmakers raised concerns over what they described as a growing jurisdictional conflict between NOCAL and the LPRA regarding the implementation of Liberia’s Petroleum Law. They warned that the dispute extends beyond a mere institutional disagreement and could have far-reaching consequences for the country’s investment climate and energy governance architecture.
The senators argued that when the Petroleum Law was enacted in 2014, lawmakers deliberately established a governance structure that separated commercial operations from regulatory oversight. Under that framework, NOCAL was designated as a commercial state-owned enterprise, while the LPRA was empowered to regulate upstream petroleum activities, including those involving NOCAL itself.
They emphasized that the arrangement was crafted to promote transparency, strengthen accountability, eliminate conflicts of interest, and align Liberia’s petroleum sector with internationally accepted governance standards.
Despite NOCAL’s assertion that its actions are lawful, Senators Konneh and Sogbie maintain that the matter requires urgent legislative scrutiny. They cautioned that allowing the disagreement to persist without clarification could create a dangerous precedent, eroding confidence in Liberia’s legal and regulatory systems while complicating future reforms aimed at strengthening oversight of the extractive sector.
The lawmakers further warned that unresolved questions surrounding regulatory authority could discourage potential investors, weaken revenue collection efforts, generate uncertainty within the petroleum industry, and undermine public trust in the management of Liberia’s natural resources.
In what amounts to a strong defense of legislative oversight and resource accountability, the senators called on their colleagues in the Senate to act decisively to protect the integrity of the Petroleum Law and preserve confidence in Liberia’s hydrocarbon sector.
“The Senate must act decisively now to settle this dispute by preserving the law before it inflicts lasting damage on energy-sector governance,” the lawmakers stressed.
The intervention by Senators Konneh and Sogbie places the spotlight squarely on the Senate’s oversight responsibility at a critical moment for Liberia’s petroleum industry, as questions of transparency, institutional accountability, and lawful resource management continue to dominate national discourse.
With growing calls for clarity and enforcement of the Petroleum Law, attention is now focused on Senate Plenary and the steps lawmakers may take to address the controversy surrounding the NOCAL agreements and safeguard Liberia’s petroleum governance regime.