Exxon to begin drilling off Libyan coast - report

NEW YORK, June 26 (Reuters) - Exxon Mobil Corp (XOM.N) is beginning to drill the first of three deep water exploration wells off the coast of Libya, the Wall Street Journal reported on Friday.

The paper said the exploration program would start in the next couple of days, according to an interview with Exxon's head of exploration Tim Cejka.

A spokesperson for Exxon Mobil was not immediately available to comment.

Until recently, Libya was off limits for most foreign oil firms for decades and they accepted some of the industry's tightest exploration and production sharing deals when they were at last able to access Africa's most promising oil acreage.

(Reporting by Yinka Adegoke; Editing Bernard Orr)