A thick, black, petroleum-smelling substance discovered floating on a river in Beon’s Town, Grand Bassa County in November 2025 has triggered a wave of hope — and mounting frustration — in one of Liberia’s rural communities, as residents wait for official scientific results that have been promised but not yet delivered, and government agencies deflect inquiries without providing concrete answers.
The discovery was first made on November 5, 2025, by a woman who noticed an unusual substance on the river’s surface while setting fishing baskets. She initially kept the find to herself, unsure of what she had seen. It was only after a strong odour began drifting toward a nearby road that Town Chief Simeon and community members investigated and found a significant quantity of thick, oily material covering the water. Word spread rapidly, drawing residents from surrounding communities who began collecting the substance in containers. Responding to the find, representatives from the National Oil Company of Liberia visited the site, collected samples, and reportedly left $150 USD with local leadership before departing — without a clear explanation of the payment’s purpose.
A multi-agency investigation was subsequently launched, involving the Ministry of Mines and Energy, the Environmental Protection Agency, NOCAL, and the Liberia Petroleum Regulatory Authority, with samples sent to international laboratories in Chad, Kenya, and Ghana for analysis, given the absence of specialised petroleum testing facilities within Liberia. Charles Umehai, Deputy Minister for Energy, confirmed the government is taking a careful, scientifically rigorous approach and will submit results to the President before any public announcement is made. “The laboratory analysis will confirm whether this is crude or not. We don’t want to give information that is not well beefed up with facts,” he said.
For the community, however, the silence has become agonising. Chief Simeon noted that authorities have instructed residents to guard the discovery site — yet this is the same river that serves as the community’s primary water source, raising urgent concerns about potential contamination and public health risks that have gone unaddressed. Beyond the oil question, community leaders are calling on the government to address chronic infrastructure deficits: the town has no high school, no functional clean water pump, and residents rely heavily on charcoal production for income. Should the discovery ultimately be confirmed as crude oil, community leaders say they want binding commitments that Beon’s Town residents — those most directly affected — will be the primary beneficiaries of any resulting economic development.
Source: AllAfrica