U.S. Diplomat Urges Lebanon to Swiftly Kick Off Offshore Gas and Oil Exploration

A U.S. diplomat urged on Wednesday the Lebanese government to swiftly complete the necessary measures to kick off gas and oil exploration, denying that Israel is seeking to take Lebanon's share of its offshore natural resources.

“The Lebanese state should work swiftly to follow the other eastern Mediterranean countries,” U.S. Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Energy Diplomacy Amos Hochstein said in an interview with As Safir newspaper.

He pointed out that the gas exploration process could require 7 years.

The diplomat, who held talks with Lebanese senior officials during his short trip to Beirut, considered that “he is seeking to offer Lebanon a U.S. support” in the matter.

“I think the timing of my visit is perfect as it is accompanied by the formation of a new cabinet,” Hochstein noted.

He ruled out reports saying that he is in Lebanon to push forward two decrees essential to award the oil blocks for oil companies.

The decrees call for demarcating 10 maritime oil exploration blocks and setting up a revenue-sharing model.

“I am in Lebanon to inquire about the (Lebanese) cabinet's point of view regarding this matter,” the U.S. official added.

Concerning the tenders process for the licensing of offshore oil and gas exploration, Hochstein expressed belief that “the U.S. companies are excellent and the best in the world.”

The country's oil and gas wealth attracted around 46 Arab and international companies in the second pre-qualification round of the tenders process.

Acute discord among Lebanese officials is also delaying the awarding of 10 of the oil blocks.

“Only 12 companies will be awarded, however, it all depends on the situation in the country,” the diplomat remarked.

The tender has been previously postponed for several times over the failure of former Prime Minister Najib Miqati's cabinet to approve the decrees that call for demarcating 10 maritime oil exploration blocks and setting up a revenue-sharing model.

Asked about the dispute between Lebanon and Israel over the two countries Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ), the U.S. official described negotiations as “excellent.”

“Israel will not assault the Lebanese oil and gas.... It's a baseless accusation,” Hochstein said.

“Israel is exploring blocks that are far away from any potential Lebanese blocks... It's working in the south,” he told the daily.

Lebanon and Israel are bickering over a maritime zone that consists of about 854 square kilometers and suspected energy reserves there could generate billions of dollars.

Lebanese officials continuously expressed fear that Israel's discovery of a new offshore gas field near Lebanese territorial waters means the Jewish state could siphon some of Lebanon's crude oil.

“We're closely working with the United Nations in this regard,” the official stressed, noting that “negotiations are ongoing between the two sides.”

In March 2010, the U.S. Geological Survey estimated a mean of 1.7 billion barrels of recoverable oil and a mean of 34.5 trillion cubic meters of recoverable gas in the Levant Basin in the eastern Mediterranean, which includes the territorial waters of Lebanon, Israel, Syria and Cyprus.

The U.S. had offered to mediate between the sides in an attempt to reach a solution.

Beirut argues that a maritime map it submitted to the U.N. is in line with an armistice accord drawn up in 1949, an agreement which is not contested by Israel.

Hochstein held talks during his short visit to Lebanon with President Michel Suleiman, PM Tammam Salam, Energy Minister Arthur Nazarian, Foreign Minister Jebran Bassil, Speaker Nabih Berri's adviser Ali Hamdan, U.N. Special Coordinator for Lebanon Derek Plumbly and head of al-Mustaqbal parliamentary bloc Fouad Saniora.

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- M. T.