MONROVIA – Two members of the House of Representatives, Cllr. J. Fonati Koffa of Grand Kru County District #2 and Musa Hassan Bility of Nimba County District #7, have strongly urged their colleagues to reject the controversial Atlas Oranto Production Sharing Agreement (PSA) recently submitted to the Legislature by the Executive Branch. In a detailed letter dated October 29, 2025, addressed to key committee chairpersons, the lawmakers described the deal as tainted by corruption, secrecy, and a lack of institutional capacity.
In their joint communication, addressed to Hon. Sam P. Jallah, Chairman of the Committee on Hydrocarbon; Hon. Foday Fahnbulleh, Chairman of the Committee on Investment and Concessions; and Hon. Johnson Williams, Chairman of the Committee on Judiciary, Representatives Koffa and Bility warned that ratifying the Oranto agreement would be “a grave mistake” that could undermine Liberia’s petroleum future and tarnish the Legislature’s reputation.
“Few moments in our sojourn as legislators will require us to stand up vigorously for the future of this country and the judgment of history. We are afraid one of those times is now,” the lawmakers wrote. “The Atlas Oranto Production Sharing Agreement should not be ratified and should be returned to the Executive for reasons stated below.”
Citing past controversies, Koffa and Bility reminded the House that Oranto Petroleum’s history in Liberia dates back to 2007 when it was granted three oil blocks (LB-11, LB-12, and LB-14) under questionable circumstances. They referenced reports by ProPublica, Global Witness, and Forbes Magazine which exposed how Oranto allegedly used a “straw man” company, Canadian Overseas Petroleum Ltd (COPL), to sell the blocks to Chevron for over US$200 million without drilling a single well or making any direct investment in Liberia.
According to the lawmakers, that previous deal violated the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) and remains a stain on Liberia’s oil sector. “The history of dealings between Oranto Petroleum and Liberian authorities is marred by scandal and corruption,” they wrote. “The process was widely criticized for its lack of transparency and integrity.”
The legislators also accused the government of conducting the current Oranto deal in secrecy, bypassing the required competitive bidding process. They posed a series of pointed questions to the Executive Branch, including who Oranto’s Liberian lawyers are, who advised the government on the agreement, who the local beneficiaries are, and why the signing bonus was reduced from US$10 million to US$1.2 million.
“These are all transparency questions that must be answered before the people’s deputies can pass on this matter,” the letter emphasized. “As our people say in Liberia, nobody stupid here. If it looks like corruption, quacks like corruption, and smells like corruption, it must be corruption.”
Koffa and Bility further questioned Oranto’s financial and technical capacity to undertake ultra-deep-water drilling operations, which they said require up to US$200 million per well and specialized expertise. They argued that global industry leaders such as ExxonMobil, Chevron, Shell, TotalEnergies, and BP possess the necessary capacity, while Oranto has no proven record in ultra-deep exploration. “With such an enormous panoply of companies, why did the Government see the need to engage Oranto at all?” they asked.
The lawmakers described Oranto as “a flipper,” a company notorious for acquiring oil blocks cheaply and reselling them for massive profit without adding any value. They referenced a recent FrontPage Africa report titled “The Oil Block Flipper Is Back,” which raised similar concerns about Oranto’s business model. “He adds neither value nor substance to the blocks he has been awarded,” they stated.
Concluding their communication, Representatives Koffa and Bility called the Oranto agreement a “major policy decision with long-term implications for Liberia’s petroleum future” and urged their colleagues to reject it in defense of national interest. “To give out a significant public resource to a company with a scanty track record and no capacity to perform the contract is nothing less than a dereliction of duty,” they warned.
Their joint stance is expected to spark intense debate within the Legislature, as lawmakers weigh the potential economic benefits of new oil exploration against the serious corruption and capacity concerns raised by two of the House’s most influential members.
