The Lebanese oil ministry will move forward in its much-anticipated oil and gas tender, despite the inclusion of disputed territories in some of the allotted blocks, a new report says.
Current explorations taking place in an offshore gas field are “by all accounts” part of Israel, according to the Israeli defense minister. Lebanese minister Cesar Abi Khalil, on the other hand, considers the statement to be an aggression against Beirut, since Lebanon has demarcated its maritime borders and reported them to the United Nations previously.
In December, the results of Lebanon’s first tender authorized Eni, Total, and Novatek to explore natural gas prospects in two offshore blocks.
Heated letters sent to the UN by Beirut and Jerusalem from 2010-2011 showed the two nations squabbling over the right to claim an 860 kilometer triangular area as part of their respective exclusive economic zones. The dispute is still active, but energy companies are accustomed to working around border disagreements, usually by agreeing to develop a contentious block without touching areas considered to be the most contentious.
Lebanon and neighboring Cyprus signed an agreement delineating their maritime boundaries in 2007, but it remains unratified.
U.K.-based Spectrum performed surveys on the area between 2006 and 2013. The 2D and 3D seismic tests, which covered over 70 percent of Lebanese coastal waters, said the seabed could hold anywhere between 12 to 25 trillion cubic feet of it being recoverable. Before drilling began last month, Lebanon had not achieved a single well in its seabed, so all analysis of potential reserves need to be taken with a grain of salt.
In 2013, former energy minister Gebran Basil said reserves within Lebanese waters totaled 95.9 trillion cubic feet, emphasizing that reserves may be larger than previously expected. These figures were speculative, put out at a press conference to drum up excitement for the licensing round.
Source: https://oilprice.com/Latest-Energy-News/World-News/Lebanon-Defends-Right-To-Drill-For-Gas-In-Offshore-Blocks.html