In Liberia today, ExxonMobil has announced plans to commence drilling on Block 13 situated off the coast of Margibi & Grand Bassa.

The company had signed for Block 13, in 2003 but due to the Ebola epidemic in the country, it had put the project on hold.

The Ebola epidemic had killed 4,800 people in Liberia and also discourage investors. The country was affirmed to be free from Ebola in September 2015, but the president had predicted that it was going to take two years for the country to regain its economic stability.

According to Steven Buck, ExxonMobil’s country manager for Liberia and Ivory Coast, the company expects the drilling to commence in late 2016 or early 2017.

"I am very excited to see ExxonMobil here. Their presence demonstrates to the world that Liberia is once more on the move”, Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, the President of Liberia said.

Liberia is not an oil producing country, but following the footsteps of Gulf of Guinea’s neighbors Ghana and Nigeria, it had awarded a number of exploration blocks offshore to oil and gas super majors, Reuters reports.