TotalEnergies commissions exploration studies offshore Liberia

The 3D seismic reprocessing and seafloor analysis will assist identification of prime drilling prospects in the deepwater Harper Basin.
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July 7, 2026
3 min read
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Why this news matters:

  • The studies could help reopen Liberia as an offshore exploration hotspot, as TotalEnergies evaluates acreage in a frontier basin that has seen limited recent activity but remains prospective for large deepwater discoveries. 

  • New seismic and exploration work is an important first step toward future drilling decisions, helping de-risk prospects and improve understanding of resource potential across Liberia’s offshore acreage. 

  • The move signals continued industry interest in underexplored West African basins, where operators are seeking the next generation of offshore oil and gas discoveries beyond established producing regions

 

Courtesy BluEnergies
TotalEnergies commissions exploration studies offshore Liberia

TGS and GeoPartners are supporting TotalEnergies and partner BluEnergies with exploration studies of three deepwater blocks offshore Liberia.

Blocks LB-26, LB-30 and LB-31 are in the Harper Basin offshore Liberia. This contains a Cretaceous deepwater fan play which, according to BluEnergies, is analogous to Eni’s Calao discovery offshore Cote d’Ivoire; the Jubilee field offshore Ghana on the same West African Transform Margin; and the Venus and Mopane discoveries in the Orange Basin offshore Namibia.

In addition, the Harper Basin fan play is said to share the same source rocks and depositional environment as the Stabroek Block offshore Guyana on the conjugate margin.

Seismic reprocessing targets drilling prospects

As part of a program to confirm and enhance definition of drilling candidates on the Liberia blocks, TGS is reprocessing a 3D seismic data set which the company acquired across the acreage in 2013.

Goals include enhanced seismic character/definition and AVO content.

Seafloor survey aims to de-risk future wells

Courtesy TDI-Brooks
R/V GYRE vessel owned and operated by TDI-Brooks

The R/V GYRE vessel is owned and operated by TDI-Brooks.

Separately, London-based GeoPartners is conducting Multi-Beam Eco Sounder (MBES) over a 4,045-sq km area, in water depths ranging from 500-3,500 m, using the R/V GYRE vessel owned and operated by TDI-Brooks.

Data acquisition should be completed during the current quarter, enabling early integration of the results into a refined 3-D seismic data interpretation.

The MBES will support identification of seafloor anomalies to assist the selection process for future drilling locations. These anomalies could include pockmarks, mud volcanoes and faults, carbonates, outcrops and bacterial mats.

Courtesy TGS
subsurface interpretation
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Among other tasks, the team is performing water column imaging for the detection of potential anomalies related to seepage of hydrocarbons through the sea floor; piston coring to collect evidence of migrated mature hydrocarbons; and heat flow measurements to investigate the relative sediment temperature and the thermal history of the undrilled Harper Basin.

All work should be completed by Q4, with integration of the data into a 3-D data re-interpretation of the numerous leads (i.e. basin floor fans) within the locks.

Sergio Laura, VP Exploration at BluEnergies, said: “The West Africa Transform Margin, where the Harper basin is located, and its conjugate South American Margin are regions where basin floor fan plays are being actively and successfully explored, developed and produced.”  

Laura continued: “The recent, hectic activity by major oil companies in securing licenses for deepwater acreage along the entire Africa west margin is confirmation that the early move by BluEnergies in the Harper Basin (2023) was a valid one.”

About the Author

Jeremy Beckman
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Jeremy Beckman

Editor, Europe

Jeremy Beckman has been Editor Europe, Offshore since 1992. Prior to joining Offshore he was a freelance journalist for eight years, working for a variety of electronics, computing and scientific journals in the UK. He regularly writes news columns on trends and events both in the NW Europe offshore region and globally. He also writes features on developments and technology in exploration and production.

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