Nabih Berry, Najib Mikati, caretaker Ministers Walid Fayad and Ali Hamiye and other officials during a visit aboard the ship tasked with exploring Block 9, Aug. 22, 2023. (Credit: @grandserail/X)
The Lebanese Petroleum Authority (LPA), a division of the Ministry of Energy, has extended the deadline until March 17, 2025, for companies seeking to participate in a tender to acquire exploration and exploitation licenses for nine blocks within Lebanon's Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ).
According to documents released online, nine out of 10 blocks in the EEZ are included in the tender, including Block No. 4. Previously explored without success in 2020 by the consortium TotalEnergies/Eni/Novatek, the block is now under TotalEnergie/EniQatarEnergy following Russia's departure amid international tensions related to the Ukraine war. Block No. 4 is situated off the coast of Batroun in the southern tip of North Lebanon.
Exploration of Block No. 9, located at the EEZ's southern end and licensed to the consortium since 2018, did not yield results justifying the deployment of a natural gas drilling platform. Delayed by a longstanding border dispute between Lebanon and Israel, exploration drilling commenced in 2023 after the signing of the October 2022 agreement between the two nations to resolve their maritime boundary disputes.
