LIBERIA: Top NOCAL Official Azango vows Transformative Action

As the new leadership takes over the mantle of authority at the National Oil Company of Liberia (NOCAL), Emmanuel Azango, First Vice President for Finance and Investment, has vowed transformative actions that would change the narratives at the company.

Mr. Azango sees his appointment by President Joseph Nyuma Boakai as a call to duty with utmost determination and commitment to transform the fortunes of the nation in its lifetime and in the short space of six years.

As First Vice President for Finance and Investment, Azango indicates that 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, adding “We seem to be stuck on the traditional sources of revenue; selling data and seeking royalties.”

“The real money is in attracting meaningful and transformative investments through partnerships. There are global trends that are favorable and we 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. Our 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.”

Amid optimism of great potential, he asserted that Liberia is also uniquely positioned to attract investments and partnerships with Gulf countries trying to diversify away from their conflict-prone region, stressing that his department will take a more active role in this regard.

“We take the view that multiple drilling will lead to more investments and increase the chance of Liberia striking commercially viable oil. While the administration and we at NOCAL know the global need to move away from fossil fuels, we see tremendous opportunities to grow the nation’s economy by responsibly tapping into our country’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.”

“The return of Exxon Mobil as announced last April is a clear signal that more drilling and exploration in Liberian waters is a sound investment and that Liberian petroleum exploration is a worthy investment. We will build on and step up this momentum.”