The French company “Total Energies” is leading the drilling work in Block No. 9, and its cooperation is the Italian oil giant “Eni” and the state-owned “Qatar Energy”.
Lebanon is eagerly awaiting before the end of this year that there will be a clear answer to the question whether the gas in the first well of Block No. 9 is in commercial quantities.
And the caretaker government announced earlier that it is expected that the results of oil and gas exploration will appear before the end of this year.
Official visit
- On Tuesday morning, caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati and Speaker of the Lebanese Parliament Nabih Berri visited the drilling rig in the
- Block 9, where Total is scheduled to start gas exploration soon, on board a company helicopter.
- Mikati said, “We look forward to the coming days bringing good signs that will help Lebanon deal with the many crises it is suffering from.”
- Berri said that the visit “is a joy for which the country has worked for many years.”
- The Lebanese Jesuit universities and the American University began teaching new specializations, to keep pace with the expected oil and gas discovery.
Commenting on the issue, Lori Hetayan, an oil and gas expert in Lebanon, told Sky News Arabia: “At the end of this August, Total announced the start of gas exploration in Block No. 9 in the territorial waters of southern Lebanon, and the French company must announce the result.” .
The expert added, “If it is positive, then either the amount of gas discovered is small (non-commercial), or in quantities capable of development and production.”
And Hitian continued: “If all the reservoir in which the gas was found is located in the Lebanese economic zone, then the contract concluded between the state and Total applies to it and the development and production plan begins. Gas, and this is what we expect to start within days.”
And she added, “If the results are negative, the entire oil sector must be rethought, as this will be the second time that drilling is carried out in vain, while there is no demand from exploration companies to submit offers since the opening of the second licensing round last April.”
She also said: “If the results of drilling are positive, we will then wait for the work plan that Total will present to the Lebanese government, on the basis of which it determines how this gas will be produced and how it will be used, based on the plan that includes all the process starting from the drilling platform to the required infrastructure, showing the extent of the possibility of starting.” production, but before we reach a stage during which Total announces the discovery, its size and the plan, we cannot know how much this wealth will generate money for the state treasury.
The expert added, “The main question remains: Will Lebanon benefit from gas money with the presence of this political class? Why do you think that this class will act today in a positive way, even if there are laws to protect the sector and the sovereign fund for the money that will be earned from it?”
She concluded her speech by saying: “There is a governance methodology that relies on quotas and corruption that fuels doubts among the Lebanese citizen about the possibility of benefiting from this sector. Therefore, economic and financial reforms in the structure of the current system are the basis, and without them, gas will be produced, its money will go, and we will remain in our place.”
It is noteworthy that the “Transocean Parents” drilling rig arrived last week in the Lebanese territorial waters, and was stationed at the point specified for it in Block No. 9, provided that the team that will work on it, which is about 140 technicians, will join it.
#Block #9.. #Lebanon #lifeline #middle #sea