Progress in Appointment of Oil Authority Members

The formation of an oil authority is absent from the agenda of a cabinet session on Friday but progress is being made to speed up exploration of potential offshore gas and oil reserves.

The authority is tasked with overseeing the petroleum sector for the purpose of exploring the reserves.

Ministerial sources told As Safir newspaper that a timeframe set by the energy ministry to receive applications for posts in the authority is nearing its deadline.

The ministry of state for administrative reform will start by the end of the month the process of choosing the most competent employees, they said.

The process will later be followed by the appointment of the members of the authority by mid-May, sources close to Energy Minister Jebran Bassil told As Safir.

Lebanon has been slow to exploit its maritime resources compared with other eastern Mediterranean countries. Israel, Cyprus and Turkey are all much more advanced in drilling for oil and gas.

Speaker Nabih Berri has warned Israel against laying claim to Lebanon’s potential reserves, which he said was the country's "best bet" to pay off debts.