The Plenary of the House of Representatives, has voted to ratify the Production Sharing Contract (PSC) of Oranto Petroleum.
The process followed the submission of a comprehensive report by the Joint Committee on Hydrocarbon; Investment and Concessions; Mines, Energy, Natural Resources and Environment, Contracts and Monopolies.
According to a release, the decision was reached during the House’s deliberations on Thursday, 17th Day sitting of the 3rd Quarter of the 2nd session after careful review of the committee’s findings, fiscal assessments, and compliance with legal and environmental standards.
The Joint Committee, the release said, highlighted several fiscal advantages to the government under the Oranto PSC.
This include US$400,000 to the Liberia Petroleum Regulatory Authority (LPRA) in signature and production bonuses; US$850,000 to the Consolidated Fund within 120 days upon ratification and US$1.25 million to the Consolidated Fund upon acquisition of new seismic data.
Others are: US$1.25 million to LPRA upon approval of the first exploration well; US$10 million to the Consolidated Fund when total crude oil production from all exploitation areas reaches 30,000 barrels per day for 90 consecutive days; US$15 million to the Consolidated Fund when production reaches 50,000 barrels per day for 90 consecutive days; US$20 million to the Consolidated Fund when production reaches 100,000 barrels per day for 90 consecutive days and US$500,000 annual administrative fee payable to LPRA starting from the effective date of each contract year. After extensive scrutiny and validation of the PSC’s legal, financial, social, and environmental compliance, the Joint Committee recommended the ratification of the Oranto Liberia Limited PSCs to provide geologists, petroleum experts, and technicians the necessary scope for robust exploration activities; the House’s Committee on Hydrocarbon should collaborate with the Executive Branch to ensure effective contract engagement; monitoring and evaluation; the Legislature should review the contract after five year; if permissible by law, to strengthen oversight and ensure alignment with national interests.
And following the ratification by the house Plenary, the release said, Oranto Production Sharing Contract, has been forwarded to the senate for concurrence.