Petroleum Act Amendments of 2019.

This Act amends the original Law by (i) increasing the maximum surface area of offshore blocks from 2,000 square kilometers to 3,500 square kilometers, and the maximum surface area of onshore blocks from 1,000 square kilometers to 2,000 square kilometers; (ii) increasing the number of the Board of Directors from three to five; (iii) specifying that the Petroleum agreements can be granted through international open competitive bidding, direct negotiations for special cases with presidential approval, or executive allocation to NOCAL with legislative consultation, with all agreements requiring legislative ratification; (iv) providing in the part concerning the citizen participation in revenue from petroleum agreements that each petroleum agreement must include a provision for at least 5% equity stake for Liberian-owned companies, with benefits from the citizen participation fund distributed broadly and prioritized for communities near petroleum blocks. Furthermore, the provision allowing the State to waive sovereign immunity for jurisdiction and enforcement of arbitral awards, with the exception of assets used for national security, military, or diplomatic purposes, is now abrogated (Article 68.3).