Lebanon begins first round of offshore oil exploration

Offshore oil and gas exploration begins in Lebanon following government approval last year.

2 min read

29 May, 2018

Offshore oil and gas exploration has raised tensions between Lebanon and neighbouring Israel [Getty]

Lebanon on Tuesday began its first search for offshore oil and gas, according to the country's outgoing energy minister.

Last year Lebanon approved an exploration plan for a consortium led by France's Total, Italy's Eni and Russia's Novotek to search for gas in two of ten offshore blocks.

Part of Block 9, one of the two approved blocks, contains water disputed with neighbouring Israel but the consortium has said it does not plan to drill in the area.

Lebanese officials have said the whole zone belongs to Beirut while Israeli Defence Minister Avigdor Lieberman has insisted it is solidly in Israeli territory.

In November, Israel installed a battery of its Iron Dome anti-missile system on a warship for the first time, calling it a valuable asset in protecting its offshore natural gas fields.

Twitter Post

During Tuesday's televised remarks, Abi Khalil said the government will provide all necessary licences and permissions "on time and without delay" to expedite the gas search.

Lebanon hopes to launch a second offshore licencing round in late 2018 or early 2019, the energy minister added.

The eastern Mediterranean has seen a flurry of offshare gas discoveries in recent months and years – Cyprus and Israel have also discovered major gas fields in their waters.

Agencies contributed to this report.

Follow us on Twitter: @The_NewArab