NOCAL First Vice President For Finance Unveil Plans For Improvement By: Julius Konton

The First Vice President of Finance of the National Oil Company of Liberia, Emmanuel Azango, has officially taken office to steer the affairs of the public space for the next six years. Speaking when he officially commenced work on Tuesday, February 13, 2024 , Mr. Azango said among other things, his main objective  will be to help revive the entity by designing and executing a new investment strategy to increase the resources at the disposal of NOCAL and raise the profile of the Liberian Petroleum development program. “We assume this call to duty with utmost determination and commitment to transform the fortunes of this nation in our lifetime and in the short space of six years,” he told the media.  According to him, and over the years, the sector seemed to be stuck on the traditional sources of revenue; selling data and seeking royalties. However, he emphasized that the real money is in attracting meaningful and transformative investments through partnerships. Speaking further, he stated that there are global trends that are favorable and he and his team will use them to pursue hefty investments that will make Liberia attractive again. “We will draw on the positive momentum currently in the global oil exploration that has attracted over 100 billion dollars worldwide to exploration rigs,” he added. Mr. Azango stressed that his focus over the next couple of weeks will be to craft an investment strategy that will attract major Gulf country’s National Oil Companies to strengthening NOCAL’s technical and financial capabilities to explore oil alongside private sector actors.  Making reference to the globe, he indicated that the war in Ukraine has led to the isolation of Russian oil by European countries and those European countries, he noted,  will have to replace the Russian oil that they are isolating in their war efforts and most of their companies are looking to Africa and they are increasingly investing in exploration. It is time, he pointed out, that looking at the sector from the global stage Liberia will need to position herself to attract some of that money.  Liberia, he told the media, is also uniquely positioned to attract investments and partnerships with Gulf countries trying to diversify away from their conflict-prone region, noting that department will take a more active role in said regard.

“We take the view that multiple drilling will lead to more investments and increase the chance of Liberia striking commercially viable oil,” he added. The NOCAL First Vice President For Finance said they are aware and acknowledged the global need to move away from fossil fuels, as such see it as a tremendous opportunities to grow the nation’s economy by responsibly tapping into Liberia’s hydrocarbon potential.  “As we are only just taking over, we will keep an open mind and take stock of what our predecessors have achieved and leverage that to grow and make NOCAL a source of national prosperity,” he maintained. The return of Exxon Mobil as announced last April, he stated, is also a clear signal that more drilling and exploration in Liberian waters is a sound investment and that Liberian petroleum exploration is a worthy investment, noting that they will build on and step up said momentum.