Qatar Energy Company intends to officially join the consortium led by the French company Total Energy to explore for oil and gas in Lebanon.
And the Lebanese Ministry of Energy announced that the Qatari company will join France’s Total Energy and Italy’s Eni in a tripartite alliance to explore oil and gas in two offshore areas off the coast of Lebanon, according to data seen by the specialized energy platform.
And he said Lebanese Energy Minister Walid Fayyad, that the agreements will be signed next Sunday, explaining that “this will be a great positive development,” she said. Reuters.
Added to the entry Qatar Energy Project may pay Exploration for oil and gas in Lebanon Going forward, after Total announced the start of exploration activities starting from November (2023).
Qatar Energy share
After months of talks, Qatar Energy is set to acquire 30%, with France’s Total Energy and Italy’s Eni each 35%.
Fayyad had revealed – in previous statements – Qatar Energy’s desire to participate with the coalition to explore for oil and gas in Blocks 4 and 9.
He pointed out that “the entry of Qatar Energy to become the third partner of my company (TotalAnd (Eni) in these two fields is very important, because we know Qatar’s investment capacity and desire to invest in the economic advancement of Lebanon in the oil and gas sector, exploration and energy production.
First licensing round
The first licensing round in Lebanon in 2017 saw a consortium of Total Energy, Eni and Russia’s Novatek win bids for exploration in Blocks 4 and 9.
Novatek withdrew in September 2022, leaving its 20% stake in the hands of the Lebanese government.
In October, Lebanon and Israel agreed to a landmark agreement brokered by the United States, Ldelineate their borders The navy has long been disputed.
Block 9 is mostly located in Lebanese waters, but part of it lies south of the newly drawn border with Israel.
The French company and its Italian partner, Eni (the Lebanese Marine Block 9 Exploration Alliance) recently signed a framework agreement with Israel, to implement the maritime border demarcation agreement that was reached between the latter and Lebanon on October 27 (2022).
The agreement stipulated that no Lebanese or Israeli company would work in the area below the new borders, which prompted the transfer of Total Energy and government stakes to two subsidiaries of the French company and the search for a new partner in the alliance.
Exploration for oil and gas in Lebanon
Last December, Total Energy announced that it would likely choose the supplier for the new drilling rig to begin operations Gas exploration Off the coast of Lebanon in the first quarter of this year (2023).
The marine areas in the eastern Mediterranean have recorded significant gas discoveries in the past decade.
Interest in the region has increased since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine disrupted gas supplies, Reuters reported.
Lebanon owns 10 offshore areas, ranging in area from 1,201 to 2,374 square kilometers per square, and the search operations in two sectors (which are sectors 4 and 9) were assigned to a consortium of 3 companies, which are the French Total Energy, the Italian Eni, and the Russian Novatec, and the latter withdrew recently to transfer its share to Lebanese government.
In April 2020, Lebanon announced that initial drilling in Concession 4 had shown traces of gas, but it did not have commercial reserves, and exploration had not begun in Concession 9, part of which lies within Israel’s borders.
The following map was prepared by the energy platform and reveals the locations of the Lebanese oil and gas blocks:
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