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.
Block 9’s target gas reservoir, whose drilling is set to start December 2020, will have one exploration well drilled and potentially one appraisal well.
A consortium of Total, Italian Eni and Russian Novatek will handle the exploration of Lebanon’s potential offshore oil and gas reserves for blocks 4 and 9.
SOURCE / DAILY STAR
