TotalEnergies has signed a trilateral consortium agreement with QatarEnergy and Eni to explore for oil and gas in two offshore blocks off the coast of Lebanon, known as Blocks 4 and 9.
After months of negotiations, QatarEnergy acquired a 30% stake in the consortium, leaving TotalEnergies and Eni with 35% each.
TotalEnergies CEO Patrick Pouyanne and Qatari Energy Minister Saad Al-Kaabi, also CEO of QatarEnergy, said they are also discussing possible coordination on renewable energy in Lebanon.
TotalEnergies aims to start work on the Lebanese offshore Block 9 as soon as possible, with geological evaluation starting early next month and well drilling starting in the third quarter of 2023, its CEO Patrick Pouyanne said Sunday at a joint press conference in Beirut following the signing tripartite agreement, according to Reuters.
Lebanon hopes that oil and gas discoveries in Blocks 4 and 9 will help it overcome the devastating economic crisis that has eroded the country’s foreign exchange reserves and caused permanent power outages in cities.
During the first licensing round in Lebanon in 2017, a consortium of TotalEnergies, Eni and Russian Novatek won exploration tenders. Novatek withdrew from the consortium in September 2022, leaving its stake in the hands of the Lebanese government. This share has now been taken over by QatarEnergy.
In October 2022, Lebanon and Israel agreed to demarcate their disputed maritime border. Block 9 is adjacent to the newly delineated border with Israel. Under the agreement, if discoveries are made in a field south of that border, they will also be developed by the consortium on behalf of Lebanon, but with a royalty system established for Israel. TotalEnergies and Israel have agreed to a separate deal for any revenue generated from this field.
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