Monrovia, Oct. 5 -- The last time a major oil company drilled off Liberia's coast, much of the money never touched Liberian soil.

By Rodney D. Sieh

When ExxonMobil drilled the Mesurado-1 well in late 2016, its operations were based out of Abidjan, in neighbouring Cote d'Ivoire. Supply boats, logistics, waste handling and technical support were all organized from across the border. In the end, the well came up dry and was plugged and abandoned, and Liberia was left with neither oil nor much to show from the drilling itself.

The National Oil Company of Liberia (NOCAL) now says it does not intend to let that happen again.

On Friday in London, NOCAL signed a Joint Development Agreement (JDA) with the Lagos Deep Offshore Logistics Base (LA...