Beirut, Lebanon – The Lebanon’s offshore exploration agreement will support the country’s economic development, said Eng. Saad bin Sherida Al Kaabi, Qatar’s Minister of State for Energy Affairs and President and CEO of QatarEnergy on Sunday.
Al Kaabi made this remark as QatarEnergy had entered into agreements with the Government of Lebanon, TotalEnergies and Eni to become a partner in two exploration blocks offshore the Republic of Lebanon.
Pursuant to the terms of the agreements, QatarEnergy will hold a 30 percent working interest in the Exploration and Production Agreements pertaining to Blocks 4 and 9, marking QatarEnergys first exploration endeavor in Lebanon. TotalEnergies (the operator) and Eni will each hold a 35 percent interest.
The agreements were signed by Minister of State for Energy Affairs, President and CEO of QatarEnergy Eng. Saad bin Sherida Al Kaabi, Minister of Energy and Water of Lebanon Dr. Walid Fayad, Chairman and CEO of TotalEnergies Patrick Pouyanne, and CEO of Eni Claudio Descalzi.
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Commenting on the signing of these agreements, Al Kaabi said: “This very important commitment gives us the opportunity to support Lebanon’s economic development, at this critical juncture. And I want to assure our brothers in Lebanon that with the guidance of HH the Amir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani, the State of Qatar will always be there in support of a better future for Lebanon and its people.”
On his part, Minister of Energy and Water in the Lebanese caretaker government Dr. Walid Fayad expressed his aspiration that this event – which Lebanon has not witnessed over the past fifty years – will mark a new phase that contributes to establishing Lebanon’s position on the oil map in the region, promotes its role as an investment destination, and opens a new window of hope for Lebanon’s prosperity and well-being of its people.
The minister expressed Lebanon’s pride in being able, through the Ministry of Energy and Water and the Lebanese Petroleum Administration, to attract this solid consortium of global pioneer companies in the field of oil and gas extraction. This indicates the continued confidence in Lebanon despite the crises it is going through and the hopes of making commercial discoveries in the exclusive Lebanese economic zone.
Fayad indicated that the signing of the agreement confirms Lebanon’s partners commitment to continue exploration operations in the Lebanese waters, especially Block 9 located in the southern sector of the exclusive Lebanese economic zone following the historical achievement, with welcomed American mediation, in marking Lebanon’s southern maritime borders.
For his part, Chairman and CEO of TotalEnergies Patrick Pouyanne stressed the partners’ determination to drill an exploration well in Block 9 as soon as possible in 2023 and the teams are fully equipped to carry out these operations. He stressed that this new partnership between TotalEnergies and QatarEnergy expands the scope of international cooperation in the field of exploration and raises the number of countries in which the two companies cooperate to nine.
For his part, CEO of Eni Claudio Descalzi said that the signing comes at a time when energy constitutes the basis for relations between countries and at a time when Russian gas supplies to Europe have stopped. He added that he is very optimistic about working with the best teams in this field, hoping to reach the desired commercial explorations for the benefit of the Lebanese people. Block 9 has a total area of 1,749 square kilometers and lies about 80 kilometers off the coast of southern Lebanon in water depths of approximately 1,700 meters, while block 4 has a total area of 1,911 square kilometers and is located in water depths of about 1,500 meters.