Energean floating production, storage and offloading vessel. Energean's floating rig arrived at the Karish field in June 2022. (Credit: Energean/Suez Canal Authority/AFP)
Energean (ENOG.L) has begun pumping gas to its floating production facility in the offshore Karish gas field as part of reverse flow testing procedures approved by the Israeli government, the energy group said Sunday.
It said the testing phase is an important step in the commissioning process of the so-called FPSO Energean Power facility.
Two Lebanese officials Sunday told AFP that they had been informed by the US mediator that the company Energean was only carrying out tests and had therefore not started operating the Karish field.
Hezbollah's leader Hassan Nasrallah has, on several occasions, threatened Israel with war if Tel Aviv were to start extracting gas before an agreement is reached between Lebanon and Israel on the demarcation of their maritime border. Negotiations on this issue suffered a setback on Thursday when Israel rejected amendments suggested by Lebanon to the proposal for resolving the dispute presented by American mediator Amos Hochstein.
Final version of the proposal
Despite the setback, the negotiations continued and the president’s press office announced late Sunday in a statement that President Michel Aoun had talked with US envoy Amos Hochstein, who updated him on the latest developments. "The discussions were completed, remarks were made and the final version of the draft resolution will be sent in the coming hours" to both parties, according to Baabda.
"The Lebanese side will study carefully" this text in order to take "an appropriate decision," the statement added.Nasrallah is expected to speak on the issue next Tuesday in a televised speech.
According to Israeli media, Iraqi hacker group "al-Tahara," which identifies as pro-Iranian, attacked the websites for two natural gas companies on Sunday — Energean and Israeli-owned Israel Natural Gas Lines. The Energean website, which was indeed inaccessible after the testing announcement, has since returned to its normal operations.
'We will destroy Lebanon'
Energean's announcement of the tests came while, on Saturday night, Israeli Defense Minister Benny Gantz warned, "If Hezbollah commits a fault or attacks Israel in any way, we will destroy Lebanon."
In a televised interview with an Israeli media outlet, reported by Russia Today and the state-run Lebanese National News Agency, the Israeli Defense Minister insisted, "Our response will be decisive if we are attacked by Lebanon."
"The Israeli army is ready for any escalation," he also said, affirming, however, that "the agreement with Lebanon is good, and it is still possible to reach it. Israel remains ready to reach an agreement, and is determined to protect its rights.
In its amendments, Lebanon refused to recognize the "line of buoys," the border delimiting the exclusive economic zones of both countries. This line extends for 6 kilometers before joining Line 23, which is claimed by Lebanon. According to Israeli media, Lebanon requested to modify the text that referred to the line of buoys by using the term "de facto" instead of "status quo." Another point rejected by Israel is the modalities for paying compensation to Israel for the part of the Qana gas field that extends southwards beyond the area bordered by Line 23. It has been devised that one of the companies in the consortium in charge of the exploration and exploitation of offshore hydrocarbons in Lebanon's EEZ will act as an intermediary by paying a lump sum to the Israeli side.
One certainty seems to be emerging for the time being: Hezbollah, which imposed these two amendments through its experts present at the meetings of the committee of specialists, is not about to reverse its decision.