MONROVIA – The Solidarity and Trust for a New Day (STAND), a prominent Liberian civil society organization, has issued a grave warning and demanded the immediate termination of a recently signed oil concession, which it labels a “corrupt $1 billion sellout” of the nation’s resources by the administration of President Joseph Boakai. In a press release dated October 25, 2025, STAND, alongside the WE THE PEOPLE Movement, alleged that a Production Sharing Contract with Atlas/Oranto Petroleum for offshore blocks LB-15, LB-16, LB-22, and LB-24 was negotiated in secrecy and represents a brazen attack on Liberia’s sovereignty.
The group asserts that its investigation has uncovered that this corrupt deal was executed without competitive bidding, transparency, or public accountability, deliberately handing over the nation’s natural wealth to a private few. STAND condemns the agreement as a dangerous reversal in Liberia’s governance and a blatant violation of both national and international law. They specifically state the deal tramples on the Petroleum Act of 2019, which mandates open bidding, the Public Procurement and Concessions Act, the LEITI Act, and Article 7 of the Constitution, which mandates that national resources be managed for the maximum benefit of the Liberian people.
Furthermore, STAND notes with dismay the government’s decision to partner with Oranto Petroleum despite the company’s tainted history in Liberia, recalling that between 2004 and 2007, Oranto acquired oil blocks through bribery and opaque negotiations only to later sell them to Chevron for over US$200 million without drilling a single well. The group’s research also uncovered that Oranto Petroleum lacks the demonstrated financial or technical capacity to conduct costly deepwater exploration, raising serious doubts about its intentions and suggesting its goal may once again be mere speculation and resale of Liberia’s resources for profit.
Given these egregious violations, STAND and the December 17 “Lead or Leave” Protest Coalition are calling on the National Legislature to immediately reject and cancel this illegitimate contract. They demand the immediate cancellation of the Atlas/Oranto deal, the full publication of all existing oil contracts, an open and competitive bidding process for all future oil blocks, and an independent investigation into all officials involved in negotiating this agreement. The group reaffirmed its commitment to mobilize citizens in a peaceful protest on December 17 against what it calls the reckless sale of Liberia’s natural resources, declaring that “Operation Octopus” will begin on that date and that “nothing will be the same.”
