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Lebanon Set to Delay Oil and Gas License Auction Until 2015

Lebanon is likely to delay again the first auction of oil and natural gas licenses in its coastal waters until 2015 because of political gridlock over decrees needed to start the bidding process, people familiar with the matter said. The nation, which claims it may have as much as 96 trillion cubic feet of natural gas and 850 million barrels of oil off its coast, repeatedly has delayed the bidding round for the licenses after a cabinet failed to approve two necessary decrees. "The situation is quite complicated. The ministerial committee that was formed to review the decrees has not done much since some members are not happy about the royalties and taxes mentioned in the drafts," one official familiar with the matter said. "Now no one wants to move forward with any action until the parliament elects a new president and we have a new government, which could […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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Beirut delays offshore energy auction

Lebanon’s government postponed an offshore natural gas auction after rancor erupted Tuesday over the amount of revenue Beirut would get from energy companies. The Lebanese government estimates there are 95 trillion cubic feet of natural gas and 750 million barrels of oil in its territorial waters. A committee led by Prime Minister Tammam Salam has only met a few times to discuss offshore prospects since it was formed early this year. A source close to ministerial negotiations for the auction told The Daily Star newspaper in Beirut policymakers "believe that the state should have a bigger royalty and higher taxes from the profits generated by the oil companies once the actual drilling starts." Royalties of between 5 and 12 percent were seen as too low when compared with other countries. Lebanese Energy and Water Minister Arthur Nazarian is set in August to outline a new date […]

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Israeli Warplanes Strike Near the Border of Syria and Lebanon

Israeli warplanes launched two raids near the Syrian-Lebanese border late Monday, according to Lebanon ’s National News Agency, raising speculation that Israel might have targeted a weapons convoy to prevent the Syrian government from delivering missiles to its Lebanese ally, Hezbollah . Israel has struck Syria at least three times in the past year, according to United States officials, to prevent sophisticated weapons from reaching Hezbollah amid the chaos of Syria ’s war. Neither Syria nor Hezbollah has retaliated. The potential significance of Monday’s strike depended on whether the raids hit Syrian or Lebanese territory, which was not immediately clear. Analysts said it would be politically harder for Hezbollah to refrain from striking back if Israel, its longtime enemy, had struck inside Lebanon. An Israeli strike inside Lebanon would also represent a further escalation in the regional involvement in — and spillover from — the Syrian […]

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Bombs Strike Southern Beirut, Killing at Least Five

Two powerful explosions struck a busy area in southern Beirut near an Iranian cultural center on Wednesday, killing at least five people and wounding dozens in the latest in a series of bomb attacks on civilians here as violence continued to spill over from the war in neighboring Syria. The Abdullah Azzam Brigades, an offshoot of Al Qaeda, claimed responsibility, saying that it would continue such attacks until the Iranian-backed Lebanese militant group Hezbollah withdrew its forces from Syria, where they are supporting the government’s fight against Syrian rebels and foreign-backed jihadist groups. “We tell our people in Syria that Iran’s party won’t enjoy security in Lebanon until you restore security in Syria,” the group said in a statement posted on its Twitter account. Until Hezbollah pulls out of Syria and Sunni militants are released from Lebanese jails, it said, “We will continue targeting Iran and […]

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Minister claims Lebanon faces ‘conspiracy’ over gas fields

As Lebanon’s political leaders and sectarian chieftains squabble over who will control the Energy Ministry and the oil and gas bonanza in the eastern Mediterranean, Energy Minister Gebran Bassil accuses rivals of "conspiring against our oil." And just to underline the extent of the prize that’s at stake, one of Lebanon’s major banking houses, Bank Audi, reported that on the basis of the 96 trillion cubic feet of gas and 865 million barrels of oil the ministry estimates lies offshore, Lebanon’s energy wealth could exceed $600 billion. The bank said in the report published Thursday it was optimistic about the prospects for the nascent energy industry, even though Lebanon’s been without a functioning government since March 2013, has a $63 billion national debt, and is hovering on the brink of another bout of sectarian bloodletting linked to the civil war in neighboring Syria. […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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Minister claims Lebanon faces 'conspiracy' over gas fields

As Lebanon’s political leaders and sectarian chieftains squabble over who will control the Energy Ministry and the oil and gas bonanza in the eastern Mediterranean, Energy Minister Gebran Bassil accuses rivals of "conspiring against our oil." And just to underline the extent of the prize that’s at stake, one of Lebanon’s major banking houses, Bank Audi, reported that on the basis of the 96 trillion cubic feet of gas and 865 million barrels of oil the ministry estimates lies offshore, Lebanon’s energy wealth could exceed $600 billion. The bank said in the report published Thursday it was optimistic about the prospects for the nascent energy industry, even though Lebanon’s been without a functioning government since March 2013, has a $63 billion national debt, and is hovering on the brink of another bout of sectarian bloodletting linked to the civil war in neighboring Syria. […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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Lebanon pols battle over energy ministry to control gasfields

As deeply divided Lebanon struggles to form a new government after 10 months of political paralysis, one of the key issues is which faction will control the Energy Ministry and the development of potentially rich offshore gas fields. Indeed, it has become something of a Catch-22 situation that’s blocking progress toward extracting the rich natural gas fields that lie in 2,000 feet under the eastern Mediterranean that could rescue the tiny Mediterranean country from economic collapse. And, like just about everything else in Lebanon, the issue has assumed sectarian overtones with the various sects all wanting to control the financial bonanza that the gas fields, which officials say could hold at least 96 trillion cubic feet, plus 850 million barrels of oil, will bring — if drilling ever starts. Work on the 10 exploration blocks in Lebanon’s Exclusive Economic Zone cannot begin until […]

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Lebanon’s prospects of gas bonanza slip further away

With Lebanon’s long-awaited auction for exploration licenses in the gas-rich eastern Mediterranean postponed because there’s no functioning government, time may be running out for the tiny country to grasp what’s likely to be its last chance for economic salvation as it slips once more toward sectarian savagery. Energy Minister Gebran Bassil was supposed to hold the auction Friday, but on Wednesday he postponed it — for the third time — to April 10 after political rivalries blocked the caretaker government of Prime Minister Najib Mikati from convening to endorse two decrees authorizing the bidding for exploration blocks in Lebanon’s maritime exclusive economic zone. "This is the last time bidding will be delayed," he declared, although it was far from clear why that should be so since the political paralysis gripping the nation is not expected to end anytime soon. Bassil insisted the auction […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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Lebanon's prospects of gas bonanza slip further away

With Lebanon’s long-awaited auction for exploration licenses in the gas-rich eastern Mediterranean postponed because there’s no functioning government, time may be running out for the tiny country to grasp what’s likely to be its last chance for economic salvation as it slips once more toward sectarian savagery. Energy Minister Gebran Bassil was supposed to hold the auction Friday, but on Wednesday he postponed it — for the third time — to April 10 after political rivalries blocked the caretaker government of Prime Minister Najib Mikati from convening to endorse two decrees authorizing the bidding for exploration blocks in Lebanon’s maritime exclusive economic zone. "This is the last time bidding will be delayed," he declared, although it was far from clear why that should be so since the political paralysis gripping the nation is not expected to end anytime soon. Bassil insisted the auction […]

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Lebanon Again Delays Offshore Energy Auction

Lebanon has again delayed its first auction of oil and natural gas licenses in its coastal waters after the government repeatedly failed to vote on decrees needed to start the bidding process, the country’s energy minister said Wednesday. The auction will now be held three months later than scheduled on April 10, instead of this Friday, Gebran Bassil said in a statement, but vowed that the bidding round will go ahead regardless of whether it has government backing. "It is sad for Lebanon to postpone this tender for the third time and this will certainly lead to a lack of trust and a lack of seriousness among the companies," Mr. Bassil said. Lebanon had twice deferred the licensing round—from Nov. 4 to Dec. 10, and then to Jan. 10—after the cabinet failed to approve two decrees. Mr. Bassil insisted that his ministry was willing to launch the bidding on […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple