This undated photo provided by French giant TotalEnergies on August 16, 2023 shows the Transocean Barents drilling rig arriving in Lebanese territorial waters in search of offshore gas. (Credit: AFP/TotalEnergies)
BEIRUT — Exploration drilling has begun on offshore Block 9 located in the south of Lebanon's exclusive economic zone (EEZ), caretaker Energy Minister Walid Fayad confirmed at a news conference Thursday.
Speaking with L'Orient-Le Jour, the minister affirmed the commencement of drilling but declined to provide further details. On Tuesday, he remarked that he expects to have more information on the findings of the exploration in 67 days.
'Historic day'
The minister referred Thursday to a "historic day," coming at the end of a process that began in 2010, and which has seen decisive stages in 2018 (the award of licenses to the consortium), 2022 (the agreement between Lebanon and Israel on the delimitation of the maritime border) and "today," the importance of which is "twofold" — on the one hand, because of the launch of drilling, and on the other, because Lebanon is about to embark on another process in parallel, namely the three-dimensional seismic survey of Block 8, adjacent to the one where exploration has just begun and for which Lebanon has been trying in vain to attract oil companies since 2019. This study, the results of which will be available by the middle of next year, is expected to optimize Lebanon's chances of stimulating oil companies' appetite for its EEZ.
The ministry has appointed two companies to conduct the study: UK-based Geoex MCG and Brighskies Geoscience (BSG). These companies' respective representatives — executive vice president Jean-Philippe Rossi and CEO Nizar Abou Ismaïl — took part in the press conference. Rossi remarked during the press conference that the study is being conducted at no cost to the Lebanese state.
Drilling in Block 9 is being carried out by the TransOcean Barents rig on behalf of the consortium made up of France's TotalEnergies, Italy's Eni and QatarEnergy, which holds licenses to explore the subsoil of two blocks in the Lebanese EEZ (Block 4 and Block 9) and possibly exploit the hydrocarbon reserves there.
Fayad announced Tuesday that drilling would begin today. His announcement came during a day on which caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati and Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri flew by helicopter to the platform chartered by the consortium.
The exploration platform arrived off the coast of Sour, in southern Lebanon on Aug. 16.
Blocked since at least 2020, the exploration process for Block 9 was relaunched following an agreement signed on Oct. 13, 2022 between Lebanon and Israel to settle their maritime boundary dispute. Israel has already started to exploit its hydrocarbon reserves.
