French energy company to drill for fuel in Lebanon by 2023

BEIRUT (AA) - The French energy company TotalEnergies on Monday said it is committed to drilling for fuel in Lebanon's Block 9 area by 2023.

The statement was made following a meeting between Lebanese Energy Minister Walid Fayyad and TotalEnergies CEO and chairman Patrick Pouyanné at the French company’s headquarters.

TotalEnergies added that a team consisting of more than 10 people is working and preparing the well, and the working team will increase to 20 by March 2023, where it will pick a winning rig at that time, after announcing the tender including the needed equipment for the rig operation.

TotalEnergies owns 60% of Lebanon's Block 9 and Eni owns the remaining 40%.

In October, Israel and Lebanon signed a US-mediated deal to demarcate the maritime border between the two countries. The deal covers an area in the Mediterranean Sea, which contains part of the Karish gas field and Qana, a prospective gas field.

Writing by Ahmed Asmar