Lebanon approves first offshore oil and gas exploration

BEIRUT, Lebanon – Lebanon approves a first bid from an international consortium including France’s Total, Italy’s ENI and Russia’s Novatek to explore for oil and gas off the country’s Mediterranean coast.

The group is the only one to respond to a call for bids by the authorities in Beirut, with Lebanon’s attempts to begin offshore energy exploration in recent years hampered by political instability.

The government of Prime Minister Saad Hariri has made finding progress on the oil and gas prospects a priority since its formation in 2016 as Lebanon looks to tap potential reserves after major offshore gas discoveries by neighboring Israel and Cyprus.

The successful bid from the consortium covers only two of five blocks that were offered by the Lebanese government.

Khalil says the next step would be for the government to sign an official agreement with the group and that explorations would not start before the beginning of 2019.

The country is wracked by severe energy and electricity shortages due to the woeful state of its infrastructure and widespread corruption.

— AFP