Liberia’s Harper Basin is gaining attention as a major frontier exploration opportunity in West Africa, with TotalEnergies and BluEnergies advancing technical studies aimed at assessing the basin’s deepwater petroleum potential.
Located offshore Liberia, the Harper Basin covers Blocks LB-26, LB-30 and LB-31 under Reconnaissance License RL-003, spanning approximately 8,924 square kilometres. TotalEnergies operates the project with a 65% interest, while BluEnergies holds the remaining 35%. The partnership was formalized in January 2026 through a joint study and application agreement after BluEnergies established an early position in the basin and advanced independent prospect evaluation.
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Although the Harper Basin remains undrilled, an independent prospective resource assessment completed in March 2025 estimated approximately 17.9 billion barrels of unrisked prospective oil resources and 28.8 trillion cubic feet of natural gas across seven mapped basin-floor fan systems.
The partners are now working to improve their understanding of the subsurface before making decisions on exploration drilling. A program to reprocess 6,167 square kilometres of legacy 3D seismic data using TGS technology has passed the halfway mark, with the work designed to improve subsurface imaging and identify potential hydrocarbon-bearing reservoirs.
Offshore research has also been underway since June 19, 2026. Subsurface specialists GeoPartners deployed the research vessel R/V GYRE, operated by TDI-Brooks, to survey approximately 4,045 square kilometres in water depths ranging from 500 to 3,500 metres.
The campaign combines seabed mapping, water-column imaging, piston coring and heat-flow measurements. The resulting data is expected to help identify potential hydrocarbon seepage, assess source-rock maturity and improve confidence in possible drilling targets. The datasets are scheduled for integration during the fourth quarter of 2026.
The exploration strategy is based partly on geological similarities with deepwater discoveries elsewhere along Africa’s Atlantic margin. The Harper Basin contains Cretaceous-aged Cenomanian and Turonian basin-floor fan systems, which are being assessed as potential analogues to established and recently discovered deepwater plays.
BluEnergies has identified seven basin-floor fan complexes through seismic interpretation. According to the company’s Vice President of Exploration Sergio Laura, discoveries such as Ghana’s Jubilee field, Namibia’s Venus field and recent offshore discoveries in Côte d’Ivoire demonstrate the potential significance of basin-floor fan systems along the African margin.
The Harper Basin also differs from some earlier Liberian exploration targets. Rather than relying predominantly on structural traps, the current exploration concept focuses on stratigraphic pinch-out reservoirs beneath regional marine shales.
The results of the ongoing technical work will be important for determining whether the identified prospects can support commercial exploration. If the partners establish sufficient confidence in the geological and reservoir characteristics, TotalEnergies and BluEnergies could seek to convert the reconnaissance license into long-term production sharing contracts by late 2026 or during 2027, subject to regulatory requirements and investment decisions.
The Harper Basin exploration program comes as Liberia seeks to attract additional offshore investment through its 2026 Offshore Direct Negotiation Licensing Round. Together, the licensing activity and technical work are placing Liberia’s offshore resources under increased attention as companies assess new opportunities along West Africa’s deepwater frontier.
