BEIRUT: A Lebanese organization is employing a new tool to develop and improve information on the country’s oil and gas sector, after identifying a worrying lack of transparency, poor sector knowledge and little reliable information. Set up two years ago, the Lebanese Oil and Gas Initiative launched an online platform at the end of July to improve access to information on Lebanon’s potential oil and gas reserves, and any future extraction.
“I call it preventative politics. ... What we’re trying to do is [use] the small window of opportunity to prevent a crisis happening ... to shape and influence the sector right now, before the laws are passed,” Georges Sassine, one of three co-founders of LOGI, told The Daily Star.
He said by moving quickly, they have the chance to shape the development of the sector and prevent poor outcomes that could exacerbate Lebanon’s existing governance challenges. Sassine explained that they must help prevent Lebanon suffering from “the resource curse.”