Lebanon to start drilling for gas next month

Lebanon’s energy and water minister Walid Fayyad disclosed on Monday that drilling for gas will begin in the first half of August in Blocks 4 and 9 of its Mediterranean territorial waters, in the wake of the US-brokered maritime border demarcation deal with Israel concluded last October. Surveys show promising prospects for oil and gas discovery, said the minister. Lebanon has signed partnership exploration deals for the two blocks with French TotalEnergies, Italian Eni energy giant and Qatar Energy.