This article was originally published on the Lebanon Gas and Oil website, and can be accesseed on this link.

A new NGO was launched this week focused on Lebanon’s oil and gas industry. It is the Lebanese Oil and Gas Initiative, LOGI, which has been long awaited since the end of 2014, and which will be promoting public awareness and sustainable development of Lebanon’s oil and gas sector. The Organization has been co-founded by a small group of young, well-experienced experts in the O&G field in the aim of developing a network of Lebanese experts in the global energy industry and providing them with a platform to educate Lebanese policy makers as well as Lebanese citizens on the key decisions facing the oil and gas industry. The co-founders Georges Sassine, Karen Ayat, and  Jeremy Arbid have made huge efforts in the past months to set up the basics and launch the NGO with professionalism and commitment.  Today, the team will start communicating with the Lebanese citizens through a website and a crowd funding campaign that has been launched on April 7, and our website had the chance to have an exclusive interview with Mr. Georges Sassine, one of LOGI’s co-founders and a strategy leader in the Energy field, who has been moving lately between the US and Lebanon to make everything move smoothly.

What is the main purpose of establishing the Lebanese Oil & Gas Initiative (LOGI)?

The Lebanese Oil & Gas Initiative (LOGI) is a new, independent non-governmental organization(NGO) based in Beirut. It is the first initiative of its kind aiming to develop a network of Lebanese petroleum experts from across the world and provide them with a platform to both inform Lebanese citizens and to advocate decision-makers on the key issues facing Lebanon’s oil and gas industry. Basically, LOGI is working to connect Lebanese experts - wherever they are in the world - to build a sustainable and healthy oil and gas industry back home.

Beginning April 7, LOGI has launched a crowd funding campaign on the Zoomaal platform to raise awareness and funds to develop its website - logi-lebanon.org - and finance its initial projects.

The campaign can be accessed at http://www.zoomaal.com/projects/logi/3483?ref=6323210.
 

What are LOGI’s primary objectives?

LOGI has two simple objectives: to raise awareness of Lebanese citizens, and to support the government with expert advice in mapping out and building a sustainable oil and gas industry. The ultimate goal is to help Lebanon maximize the economic and social benefits of potential oil and gas resources, and, if we discover oil and gas reserves, to avoid the resource curse.
 

Does LOGI think that an oil and gas industry in Lebanon will be transparent?

LOGI will play a leading role in promoting transparency and accountability in Lebanon’s oil and gas sector.  Such an industry in Lebanon offers great promise and opportunity but developing a sustainable oil and gas industry that benefits all Lebanese citizens is the challenge. It needs thorough policy planning where commitment to long-term implementation is key. This is where LOGI sees value in its platform to help Lebanon develop its petroleum policies and strategy.

LOGI will not be a typical watchdog, but will contribute to monitoring this sector through a constructive approach with Lebanon’s various stakeholders and will facilitate communication amongst them. LOGI will be but one organization advocating for transparency in Lebanon’s oil and gas sector and, in an effort to practice what we preach, will be fully transparent in its own financial and administrative operations available to the public via the LOGI website.

Citizens can access anytime LOGI’s website on the following link: http://logi-lebanon.org/ and can have a look on the Launching video and campaign published on Youtube:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g4qrJSQx3Gk.
The NGO has also published its official Facebook page LOGI: Lebanese Oil and Gas Initiative. 

Once again, LOGI comes to prove that the Lebanese youth and experts are fully ready to enter the Oil and Gas journey with professionalism, commitment and consistency. All what we need is government action to launch the sector we are all waiting for!