NOCAL, LADOL SIGN DEAL TO DEVELOP BUCHANAN OIL AND GAS SHOREBASE

Monrovia -Liberia, October 4, 2026.

The National Oil Company of Liberia, NOCAL, has signed an agreement with Nigeria’s Lagos Deep Offshore Logistics Base, LADOL, to develop a major oil and gas logistics facility in Buchanan, Grand Bassa County.

The agreement is aimed at keeping more oil and gas-related jobs, contracts and services inside Liberia as the country prepares for increased exploration and drilling activities.

Under the Joint Development Agreement, LADOL will serve as NOCAL’s technical lead partner for the project.

The company will support the feasibility study, engineering design, construction and eventual operation of the shorebase.

NOCAL says the feasibility study is expected to begin within the next 45 days and will run for about six months.

It will examine issues including the availability of land, marine access, utilities, commercial viability, geotechnical and topographical conditions, as well as environmental and social impacts.

NOCAL says the project is partly intended to address challenges experienced during Liberia’s previous drilling campaign.

During that campaign, several essential services, including waste management, logistics, supply-chain operations and specialised technical support, were reportedly sourced from neighbouring countries, including Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana and Senegal.

Officials say this meant that significant economic opportunities and jobs associated with Liberia’s petroleum activities were created outside the country.

NOCAL President and Chief Executive Officer Fabian M. Lai says the Buchanan Shorebase is intended to change that situation.

He says the partnership is not simply about building a logistics facility, but about keeping more of the petroleum value chain within Liberia.

Mr Lai says the objective is to ensure that jobs, contracts, training opportunities and supporting services linked to petroleum operations benefit Liberian companies and workers.

The Executive Chairman of LADOL, Sir Oladipo Ladi Jadesimi, says the agreement reflects the company’s confidence in Liberia’s oil and gas potential.

He says LADOL wants to support local content development and ensure that Liberian businesses and workers become major beneficiaries of the country’s natural resources.

The two sides have also agreed to establish a Joint Steering Committee to oversee the project and to work towards completing definitive agreements for its development.

The proposed Buchanan Shorebase comes as Liberia anticipates increased drilling activities under existing petroleum agreements, with further concessions expected to be awarded in the future.

NOCAL says the facility could therefore provide the infrastructure needed to support international oil companies and related service providers operating in Liberia.

For Liberia, the central question will now be whether the proposed shorebase can translate the country’s oil and gas activities into more local jobs, businesses, skills and revenue.