Liberia: Oil Bid Round 'Transparent' - Nocal Replies Global Witness

Nov 18, 2014 | AllAfrica
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Monrovia — Aletha Sherman, the Chief Operating Officer and General Counsel for the National Oil Company of Liberia says the Bid Round team has worked with professionalism and diligence to ensure that all Bid Round activities have been carried out with the highest levels of transparency and integrity.

Responding to a number of concerns raised by the watchdog group, Global Witness, Cllr. Sherman (NOCAL COO) said the criteria for evaluating bids have been public since the publication of the Bid Invitation Letter in August, among other documents on the bid round website including the preliminary PSC. "When these were adjusted, it was done so publicly. Please see Section 3.3 of the August Bid Invitation Letter, which clearly outlines the proposed bid evaluation criteria, and the September Bid Round Fact Sheet (both on the TGS bid round website). These two documents make it quite clear that the only biddable element is the signature bonus with the potential for 20% uplift for local content participation. This information has been transparent and clearly defined throughout the process."