Seismic studies for Block 8, water rationing, gold reserves audit report: Everything you need to know to start your Friday

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Caretaker Energy Minister Walid Fayad announced that 3D seismic studies to determine the hydrocarbon potential of offshore oil and gas Block 8 are set to begin between November and December, while exploratory drilling in the adjacent Block 9 began yesterday. The seismic study is expected to yield results within the first half of 2024, according to executives in the companies awarded licenses for the study after a direct negotiation with the ministry — UK-based Geoex MCG and Egypt-based Brightskies Geoscience (BGS). The two companies seek to profit by selling the study’s findings to oil companies, benefiting the Lebanese state with a commission from the sale and granting it a stronger hand in negotiations over the sale of exploration and exploitation rights to the block, according to Marc Ayoub, a researcher at the Issam Fares Institute at the American University of Beirut.

The Beirut and Mount Lebanon Water Establishment announced severe water rationing as of next week due to a dollar shortage that prevents financing fuel and maintenance for pumping stations. The water establishment did not give specifics on how the rationing scheme would be structured or rolled out. Fuel shortages interrupting private generators’ electricity supply have repeatedly cut off access to water across Lebanon.

The Judicial Police summoned Lebanese comedian Nour Hajjar for a hearing this morning without specifying the reason, he told L’Orient Today, confirming he intends to attend. Hajjar did not rule out the possibility that the summons is motivated by a video posted by stand-up comedy platform awk.word on social media of him performing a joke referring to the army. “Through his joke, Nour Hajjar highlights the fact that our soldiers have low salaries and are forced to have a second job," said one of awk.word’s founders, Dany Abou Jaoude, adding that their “intention is not to harm the Lebanese Army but to discuss the overall situation of the country.” Two months ago, comedian Shaden Fakih was fined LL1.8 million by the Military Tribunal. She was accused of “humiliation and damaging the reputation of the Internal Security Forces” for posting a video in which she called the ISF and asked if they could deliver sanitary napkins to her due to the restrictions imposed during the COVID-19 lockdown in Lebanon.

Electricité du Liban service provider KVA has been shuttered for meter tampering and “not doing its role,” including failures to perform “maintenance of EDL utilities,” a judicial source confirmed to L’Orient Today yesterday. Financial Prosecutor Judge Ali Ibrahim ordered KVA to be sealed with red wax, as well as the arrest of the company’s manager and collection manager. KVA had been responsible for maintenance of the electricity distribution network and bill collection in Beirut and the Bekaa. Earlier this year, EDL launched a campaign to remove irregularities on its network, particularly illegal connections, which it considered a precondition to increasing the hours of electricity coverage provided. EDL regularly faces issues ensuring bill collection, which expanded to a wave of canceled subscriptions earlier this year after tariffs were hiked.

A report on ALS Inspection UK’s audit of Banque du Liban gold reserves released yesterday by acting BDL chief Wassim Mansouri confirmed previous central bank estimates of possessing “more than 13,000 ingots and 600,000 coins” worth about $18 billion. Earlier this month, Mansouri reported BDL’s liquid foreign asset reserves, which amounted to $8.57 billion, and showed that 90 percent of Lebanon’s IMF Special Drawing Rights had been spent. Last April, former Banque du Liban governor Riad Salameh reaffirmed Lebanon’s rank as “the second largest holder of gold reserves in the Arab region,” which can be traced back to 1949 laws aiming to back the newly independent local currency with gold. Last July, Forces of Change MPs submitted a draft law to bolster protections against “gold being swapped for other commodities or borrowed against, or used in ways other than directly selling it.” The MPs claimed this protection was omitted in the 1986 law, enacted against the backdrop of very sharp lira depreciation, prohibiting BDL from using the gold reserves “no matter what the nature of this usage is and its purpose, be it direct or indirect,” without Parliament’s approval. The same month, financial analyst Mike Azar told L’Orient Today that “all of the financial recovery plans and figures since 2020 have earmarked the gold to cover BDL losses.”

In case you missed it, here’s our must-read story from yesterday: “‘We are not afraid of them’: LGBTQ+ community anger following attack”

Compiled by Abbas Mahfouz