Lebanon to start drilling for oil in December, will sign energy agreement with Cyprus: minister

Lebanon’s Water and Energy Minister Nada Boustani said on Thursday that Lebanon is about to sign an energy cooperation agreement with Cyprus.

“We encourage linking Lebanon with neighboring countries by signing agreements in infrastructure, technical cooperation and exchange in expertise,” Boustani was quoted as saying by Elnashra, an online independent newspaper.

Her remarks came during the 10th International Beirut Energy Forum held in Beirut.

Boustani added that Lebanon will start drilling its first well in “block 4” in the country’s territorial waters in December 2019.

In February 2018, Lebanon signed its first offshore oil and gas exploration and production contracts for two energy blocks, 4 and 9, with a consortium of France’s Total, Italy’s Eni and Russia’s Novatek.

Also, Boustani announced in April the launch of Lebanon’s second licensing round for offshore oil and gas exploration in five blocks, saying the deadline for submitting offers is January 2020.

Lebanon hopes to give a big boost to its economy through offshore energy discovery.

XINHUA