CAPITOL HILL, MONROVIA – The Liberian Senate on Thursday, December 18, 2025, ratified the Production Sharing Contracts between the Republic of Liberia, Oranto Petroleum, and TotalEnergies, a decision that has sparked sharp opposition from Gbarpolu County Senator Amara M. Konneh. Although both agreements secured legislative approval, Senator Konneh disclosed that he voted in favor of the TotalEnergies contract while casting a firm vote against the Oranto Petroleum deal, citing grave concerns about legality, competence, and the national interest.
In a statement issued after the ratification, Senator Konneh warned that approving the Oranto agreement represents a serious failure to enforce the standards required to protect Liberia’s petroleum sector. “By ratifying the Oranto agreement, the Senate joined the Executive in squandering a critical opportunity to uphold the standards that Liberia’s petroleum sector urgently needs,” Konneh said, stressing that the decision sends “a dangerous message that, in Liberia, paper guarantees can substitute for proven technical performance.”
A key pillar of Konneh’s opposition is the absence of verified evidence that Oranto Petroleum possesses the technical capacity to conduct frontier-phase petroleum exploration. He noted that during the Senate’s review, no documentation was presented showing that Oranto has ever successfully executed such activities. Instead, lawmakers were asked to rely on a guarantee statement from Atlas Petroleum to cover Oranto’s obligations in Liberia.
Senator Konneh also challenged claims that Oranto Petroleum has producing assets in Equatorial Guinea. According to him, evidence submitted to the Senate demonstrated that Atlas Petroleum International, not Oranto, holds operating interests in a producing asset in that country. “The record confirms that Atlas and Oranto are distinct companies with different operational roles,” Konneh stated, warning that granting petroleum rights without verified technical competence sets a dangerous precedent.
Equally troubling, Konneh said, is the restructuring of the mandatory signature bonus. Under the agreement, the required US$15 million payment for four blocks has been broken into installments, with only US$5 million payable within four months of ratification. The remaining US$10 million is tied to future milestones projected to occur years later. He argued that this undermines Liberia’s negotiating leverage and encourages speculative behavior.
“By accepting a four-year plan for an obligation that should have been settled upfront, the Senate joined the Executive in weakening Liberia’s negotiating position,” Konneh said. He emphasized that signature bonuses are designed to demonstrate immediate financial seriousness and commitment, not to be deferred based on uncertain future events.
The agreement also raises legal red flags regarding the exploration period. Senator Konneh pointed out that Section 21.1 of Liberia’s Petroleum Law clearly limits the exploration phase to seven years, with extensions granted only after specific work commitments are met. Despite this provision, the Oranto contract grants a ten-year exploration period, which he described as a direct violation of the law.
According to Konneh, extending the exploration period beyond the legal limit reopens Liberia’s petroleum basin to underqualified companies whose business model is to acquire, hold, and flip blocks rather than explore and develop them. He warned that the agreement contains no effective safeguards against such practices and instead offers incentives that accommodate speculative behavior.
Reflecting on the broader implications, Senator Konneh said Liberia must draw lessons from its history of weak concessions and poorly negotiated resource agreements. “They say that once you become a certain age, it’s your responsibility to unlearn behaviors that hinder your growth as a person. This is also true for nations. Liberia must learn from its past mistakes,” he said. “I voted no to Oranto Petroleum because Liberia can, and must, do better.”
Concluding his statement, Senator Konneh made clear that his opposition to the Oranto agreement should not be interpreted as hostility toward investment or partnership. “Liberia needs investment, exploration, and partnership, and urgently,” he said. “But we must pursue them within the law, with discipline, and with a clear commitment to the national interest over short-term pecuniary considerations.”
