Africa Petroleum Corp., an Australian company, has announced that it has started tapping into oil deposits situated off the coast of Liberia.

Africa Petroleum said Tuesday it started drilling its Bee Eater-1 well offshore Liberia, about 6 miles from what the company said was a proven high-quality reservoir. The Australian oil mining giant said the well was meant to test the westward extension of the reservoir.

Africa Petroleum Chief Executive Officer Karl Thompson said there are plans for a "very active exploration program" in Liberia for 2013.

A second well is planned in the offshore region once drillers complete the Bee Eater-1 well. Several potential well locations are under construction, depending on results of the latest drilling, the company said.

Meanwhile recoverable resources for the Bee Eater area are estimated by the company at more than 840 million barrels of oil.

It can be recalled that in a speech sponsored by Chevron in April in Houston, President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf said Liberia, a country still recovering politically and economically from years of civil war was encouraging investments in the oil and natural gas sector.

The Liberian government said more than $16 billion was invested in natural resources such as oil in the past six years.