TotalEnergies to start drilling in Lebanon gas field in 2023

BEIRUT, Lebanon (AA) – French energy giant TotalEnergies said Tuesday it will start drilling operations in the Lebanese Qana gas field as of 2023.

The announcement was made following a meeting between Lebanese President Michel Aoun and representatives of the French company in the capital Beirut.

A statement by Aoun’s office said the Lebanese president was briefed on the company’s preparations to start drilling in "block 9” in Lebanon's exclusive economic zone.

Aoun voiced hope that exploration activities in the Qana gas field will start soon in order to make up for the time that had passed during indirect maritime border negotiations with Israel.

Last week, Lebanon and Israel agreed to a US-brokered deal to demarcate their maritime border.

Lebanon’s Parliament Deputy Speaker Elias Bou Saab said Sunday that the maritime border deal will be signed within ten days.

Lebanon and Israel have been locked in a dispute over a maritime area of 860 square kilometers (332 square miles) rich in gas and oil, according to maps sent by both countries to the UN in 2011.

Negotiations over the territory in the Mediterranean Sea, which contain part of the Karish gas field and Qana, a prospective gas field, have been ongoing since 2020.

*Writing by Ahmed Asmar