The Lebanese Petroleum Administration announced that the energy ministry of Lebanon has extended until March 2025 the deadline for businesses to submit bids for the exploration rights for offshore oil and gas fields in its third licensing round.
The government had originally planned to begin the licensing round for nine maritime blocks in January 2024 and conclude it on July 3, 2024.
The deadline has been extended to March 17, 2025, according to the Lebanese Petroleum Administration. This is to give them more time to keep an eye on “accelerating regional and international developments,” figure out how to draw in more business interest, and “work towards achieving economic stability.”
The ongoing hostilities between the Israeli military and the Lebanese armed group Hezbollah were not mentioned in the statement.
The decision to extend the deadline was made in large part due to the firefights. Lebanon has frequently extended its licensing rounds in the past, sometimes due to a lack of applications.
The year 2022 saw the official drawing of Lebanon’s maritime border with Israel, following years of negotiations facilitated by the United States. It had anticipated that this would open up bids for the exploration of oil and gas in its waters. However, the current tensions between Israel and Lebanon are jeopardising the 2022 agreement.
However, the recent border dispute has reignited concerns that a full-scale war may start, and in a recent speech, Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, the leader of Hezbollah, made threats regarding the Mediterranean.
Meanwhile, absent a repayment plan, Lebanon may find itself dependent on an intricate arrangement to import Iraqi fuel to meet its electricity needs.
According to new documents and interviews, the programme, which experts claim is riddled with issues, may force the nation into an unstable arrangement while postponing the switch to more affordable or renewable energy sources.
Under a 2021 swap agreement, Lebanon, a nation with limited natural resources and a crippling economic crisis, imports heavy fuel oil from Iraq.