The price of oil has fallen sharply around the world in the last year. That’s forced major companies like Chevron and Exxon Mobil, that were pouring millions into Liberia, to hold back and watch the global trend in the oil market. Despite their initial investment in the country, Chevron has pulled out for now and…
Monrovia – The plunge in oil prices on the world market has dealt a devastating blow to Liberia’s oil industry dashing hopes that oil may have been the savior for Liberia’s struggling economy. But at the same time those low prices have been an expected boost to ordinary Liberians thanks to the sharply lower price…
First off, a confession: even as the oil industry in Liberia made a lot of news in our country in the years from 2010, as a practicing journalist I knew very little about it. Like most of my peers, all I ever knew reporting on the sector came at the mercy of the National Oil…
The Thomson Reuters Foundation is working with New Narratives, a non-governmental organization that has been driving improvements in Liberia’s media sector for seven years, to run a program that supports Liberian media to cover the country’s extractives industry. Support for the project comes from GIZ. The program has a focus on mining, which is an…
Monrovia – Liberia’s oil industry is holding its breath waiting for the outcome of ExxonMobil exploration efforts by the end of the year. With global oil prices low, and little interest by big oil companies in Liberia’s yet unproven oil reserves, Exxon’s drilling operation may represent Liberia’s last chance of discovering oil for some time….
Monrovia – In this last of a three-part series on the survival of the National Oil Company of Liberia (NOCAL) amid financial turmoil and the global oil crisis, we ask whether the Petroleum (Exploration and Production) Law could save Liberia’s oil and gas sector from further decay. The recent passage of the Petroleum (Exploration and…
With a global reliance on fossil fuel for energy, climate change is increasingly becoming a threat to human existence. Across the world catastrophic weather patterns are killing people and devastating agricultural activities. In our own region, one of the biggest inland water sources – Lake Chad – has almost disappeared. Drought and floods have…
Monrovia – In this second of a three-part series on the survival of the National Oil Company of Liberia (NOCAL) amid financial turmoil and the oil crisis we look closely at how the company is operating in these difficult times. NOCAL is cash-strapped and is no longer leading the promising Liberian oil and gas sector…
Monrovia – In this first part of three-part series on we look at what is currently happening in the Liberian oil basin one year on from the collapse of the National Oil Company of Liberia. What is the status of the different oil contracts between Liberia and oil companies and what does the future hold…
Monrovia – On June 19 this year, two men—Varnie Sarjue and Jusue Vannie – spent the night in the office of GMT Fishery in the Bong Mines Bridge community outside Monrovia. Both men were guarding the company’s properties, and on that fateful night Sarjue brought with him his girlfriend, Garmeh Howard. They put on a…
Liberia’s third post conflict democratic elections are expected to be held in 2017 to usher in another government when the mandate of the current government’s second and final term expires. This will mark the country’s first democratic transition in more than forty years. Already, the United Nations Mission in Liberia or UNMIL has turned over the…
As the rest of the world struggles to come to terms with the effect of climate change, the poorest countries, like our own, are on the front lines. Scientists say the vast majority of climate change is caused by richer countries like the US and China, far out of our control. But an investigation by…
It stands one storey tall and is painted in radiant orange and green but that is not what makes Emma’s Fashion perhaps the most noticeable building at V.O.A. Junction on the Roberts International Airport highway. What makes it stand out is 16 solar panels attached to two opposite sides of its roof, providing the modern…
Monrovia – The swamps or wetlands along Liberia’s coast is said to play a crucial role in the country’s ecosystem. They are nesting grounds for sea creatures, which lay and hatch their eggs before returning to the rough sea. Without them Liberia’s fishing industry could be endangered. The wetlands also play a crucial role in…
https://soundcloud.com/user5687520/impact-of-global-oil-price-on-liberians-tecee-boleymp3 In some of Africa’s biggest oil producing countries like Nigeria and Angola the dramatic global drop in oil prices has had a big impact. Ninety percent of government revenue in those countries comes from oil sales so the drop has been felt by people across the country. Liberia has yet to discover oil and…
As almost all of the oil companies are shutting down operations in Liberia, we look back at what one of the biggest companies Chevron, is leaving behind as part of its Corporate Social Responsibility program in Liberia. This is a special radio production on Radio Gbarnga bringing to the spotlight the impact of Chevron’s Corporate…
Monrovia – It has been more than six months since President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf ordered a restructure of the National Oil Company of Liberia (NOCAL) in an effort to prevent bankruptcy. With that came the redundancy of more than 100 employees. The decision sparked a serious dispute between the workers and company over severance payments….
Take part in our new project, run in collaboration with New Narratives, that supports Liberian journalists and news organizations in covering the country’s oil industry. The call for applications is now closed. Please read on for general information about the scheme. The project will run from 2015-16 and will feature training, mentoring and capacity building…
MONROVIA, Liberia — LIBERIANS have begun calling the days between July 27 and Aug. 3 “the dark week” — 173 new Ebola virus cases and 94 new deaths. How much darker things may get is anybody’s guess. In Johnsonville, a swampy town outside Monrovia, three dozen corpses in body bags were dumped in shallow holes…
After the War, Liberian Women Fight for a New Future MONROVIA, Liberia—As a feminist and reporter based in West Africa, I was drawn to Liberia by the promise of women, who played a significant role in rebuilding a nation left shattered by 14 years of civil war. The international face of the West African country…
When Mae Azango wrote her cover story on the health effects of female genital cutting in Liberia’s major newspaper, FrontPage Africa on International Women’s Day in March 2012 she had little idea of the firestorm she would ignite. Within days Mae and her 9-year-old daughter were in hiding – the targets of death threats from…
