Paris, France— French energy giant TotalEnergies said Monday that several teams were working in collaboration with the Lebanese Petroleum Administration to start drilling on its offshore gas project (Block 9) in Lebanon in 2023.
“The call for tenders to secure the drilling rig has been launched and should lead to a selection of the rig in the first quarter of 2023. Pre-orders have also been placed with suppliers for equipment required for the well,” the company said in a statement/
TotalEnergies CEO Patrick Pouyanné met Lebanon’s Minister of Energy and Water Walid Fayad in Paris and revealed that the teams in charge of drilling operations on Block 9 have been mobilized.
Besides the Operations Manager, more than 10 people are involved in the preparation of the well, the statement said.
By the end of March, the strength of the team mobilized in Beirut will reach 20 employees, the statement said, and added that offshore resources are being mobilized to contribute to the environment studies that will be finalized by the end of June 2023.
TotalEnergies, which owns 60 percent of Block 9—-Italian company Eni owns the remaining 40 percent—said in November that it would start exploration activities in Block 9, which is within Lebanon’s territorial waters, after Lebanon reached a maritime border agreement with Israel.