Dina Mahmoud (Beirut, London)
Caretaker Minister of Energy and Water, Walid Fayyad, confirmed that Lebanon has granted Bright Skies and Geox a reconnaissance license to conduct a three-dimensional seismic survey in Block No. 8 in Lebanese marine waters.
Lebanon hopes that gas and oil discoveries will help it overcome the stifling economic crisis that has drained more than 98 percent of the value of the local currency, devoured a large part of the country’s foreign reserves and caused frequent power outages in towns and cities.
Exploratory drilling for oil and gas in Block No. 9 in Lebanon was scheduled to begin on August 24, after a historic agreement brokered by the United States last year to draw the maritime borders between Lebanon and Israel for the first time.
Block 8 was previously located in a disputed area and it was not possible to start surveying before the demarcation agreement.
Fayyad said, in a statement issued by the ministry’s media office: “In the year 2022, the historic achievement was through the completion of the demarcation of the maritime borders, which came as a result of the wise leadership of President General Michel Aoun and the support of the various leaders in the country, in addition to the existence of a global need for gas.”
And last Tuesday, Fayyad announced the start of oil and gas exploration in Lebanon, Thursday, after a historic agreement brokered by the United States last year regarding the demarcation of the maritime borders between Lebanon and Israel for the first time. He said: It will be a “historic day” for the country, which is suffering from a financial crisis.
The French company Total Energies is leading the consortium behind the drilling work in Block 9, and its cooperation is the Italian oil giant Eni and the state-owned Qatar Energy Company.
Fayyad said, “After 67 days, we will have a date with the results of this drilling,” noting that the consortium of companies had shown interest in other marine areas around Block No. 9.
Total Energies said in a statement that the consortium will drill one well in Block No. 9.
Lebanon is still suffering from the continuing state of complete paralysis of the executive authority, as efforts to choose a successor to former President Michel Aoun faltered after his term ended in late October, in parallel with the failure of attempts to form a government with full powers.
Concerted and intensified international efforts seem, in the view of Western analysts, to be the best way to overcome the obstacles that impede the Lebanese Parliament’s election of the President of the Republic, on top of which is the subversive role played by deputies loyal to the “Hezbollah” militia and its allies, which led to obstructing the parliamentary voting sessions, which were held to agree on The name of the new occupant of the Baabda Presidential Palace, since late 2022.
The American magazine “The National Interest” quoted on its website political analyst Alexander Langwa, as saying that resolving the crises in Lebanon depends on the extent to which the influential Lebanese political forces respond to the current international efforts, which he stressed once again shed light on the extent of the failure of the political system in Lebanon, in addressing the fundamental shortcomings from which it suffers, which led to periods of political vacuum becoming more frequent in recent decades.
2023-08-24 21:28:21
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