The Chief Executive Officer and President of the National Oil Company of Liberia (NOCAL) Atty. Saifuah Mai Gray, plans are afoot to drill offshore wells here.

According to her NOCAL is presently in the concluding stages of discussion on a proposal from a United Kingdom-based institution that seeks to drill several scientific wells offshore West Africa, including Liberia through the International Ocean Discovery Program (IODP) to improve the country's oil and gas discovery.

She said the proposal is from Dr. Uisdean Nicholson of the Heriot-Watt University in Edinburg, United Kingdom.

Atty. Gray made the disclosure at the recently held cabinet retreat held in Ganta, Nimba County.

She said NOCAL together with the Liberia Petroleum Regulatory Authority (LPRA) conducted the 2020 Harper Basin License Round, which according to her has now translated into a direct negotiation process.

"As we speak a number of companies are engaging NOCAL for access to data which will eventually lead them to full exploration activities", the NOCAL CEO added.

She further revealed that Liberia has 33 offshore blocks and the country's seismic data include 2D seismic: 34,000 kilometers and 3D seismic: 24,000 square kilometers, respectively.

Atty. Gray continued that NOCAL has received a number of proposals to conduct an appraisal on the Narina-1 Well where Liberia had an oil discovery in 2012, but the discovery was not on a commercial scale so, development and production could not be achieved.

Touching on Onshore Performance, the Chief Executive Officer stated that NOCAL has acquired a piece of property in the vicinity of the Buchanan Port in Grand Bassa County to set up a shorebase.

According to her, the shorebase will have tank farm for storage of finished petroleum products and crude oil, assuring that NOCAL will work collaboratively with the Ministry of Commerce and other relevant agencies so that government can have a strategic reserve of petroleum at all times in the market.

She said the world is gearing up for energy transition from fossil fuel to renewal energy, and that, Africa's argument on the subject matter is the concept of mix energy as the way forward.

"Liberia like other countries is in the process of inserting energy transition plan in her PSCs."