TotalEnergies on Dec. 12 said it was working towards exploiting its new Lebanon Block 9 offshore gas project from next year, adding that it would likely select the vendor for a new drilling rig in the the first quarter of 2023.
"Pre-orders have also been placed with suppliers for equipment required," the company added in a statement.
Total said its chief executive and chairman Patrick Pouyanné had confirmed these objectives when he recently met with Lebanon's caretaker energy minister, Walid Fayad, at the firm's Paris headquarters.