13 MAY 2019
Drilling the first exploration well in Lebanon’s offshore Block 4 is planned to start in December 2019 and Block 9 in December 2020, according to a report by French oil and gas company Total.
In April, Energy Minister Nada Boustani had announced the site in Block 4 where the first drilling would take place in Lebanon’s bid to discover offshore oil and gas resources in its territories.
The site sits just north of Beirut.
“A mobile offshore drilling unit will be mobilized to Block 4 and the exploration well(s) will be drilled vertically in [an] area … where depths range from 1,450 meters to 1,760 meters,” Total’s report said.
The target gas reservoir’s drilling operations will be supported by a logistics base in Beirut Port.
Block 4 will see the drilling of one exploration well, and possibly a second one. A potential appraisal well will also be drilled, “depending upon the results of the previous exploration wells,” the report said.
HOUSTON, DEC/19/2017
Tayvis Dunnahoe
Lebanon’s Cabinet has approved the recently awarded licenses for Blocks 4 and 9 that lie in northern and southern areas offshore (OGJ Online, Oct. 23, 2017). Energy Minister Cesar Abi Khalil was quoted in The Daily Star saying drilling could begin as early as 2019.
Three companies are included in the consortium exploring both blocks: Total SA, Eni SPA, and OAO Novatek. Lebanon’s offshore is prospective for oil and gas, but the future of its development remains unknown (OGJ Online, July 7, 2017). Despite the announcement, the energy ministry has not released technical details of contracts nor has it disclosed the amount of the bids.
OCTOBER 12, 2017 / 9:29 PM
Reporting by Angus McDowall & Lisa Barrington; editing by David Evans & Jonathan Oatis
BEIRUT (Reuters) - Lebanon’s Energy Minister Cesar Abi Khalil on Thursday said a tender had closed on a first round of offshore energy blocks, and told local media that two consortiums had submitted bids.
Feb. 01, 2016
Brendan Meighan| The Daily Star
One of the most pressing crises facing the Egyptian economy has been the severe shortage of natural gas. The crisis itself – which involves supply cuts to factories and frequent electrical outages – has received copious coverage in the domestic and international press and has tested the patience of the Egyptian people and the business community. However, during the first week of November, officials at the Egyptian Natural Gas Holding Company (EGAS) announced that Egyptian heavy industry was now being supplied with all of its needed natural gas and other fuels. Officials from a number of companies and trade organizations confirmed this on Dec. 2. There has also been an absence of reports of power cuts in major residential areas. Unfortunately for Egypt, this may simply be the result of a lull in demand due to moderate weather and slower production from heavy industry, not a permanent end to the shortages.
