JOB DESCRIPTION

1. About LOGI

LOGI is an independent non-governmental organization based in Beirut that promotes the transparent and sound management of Lebanon’s oil and gas resources. It aims to develop a network of Lebanese experts in the global energy industry and provide them with a platform to educate Lebanese policy makers as well as Lebanese citizens on the key decisions facing the oil and gas industry. It focuses on public awareness, policy development, advocacy and capacity building to help Lebanon maximize the economic and social benefits of its oil and gas wealth – and avoid the resource curse. LOGI is the first and only Lebanese NGO member of Publish What You Pay (PWYP).

 2. Introduction about the Gas and Oil sector in Lebanon 

Petroleum exploration has a long history in Lebanon; however, the topic was kept aside until Noble Energy, a leading U.S. energy company, started searching the reserves in the Eastern Mediterranean Basin where it succeeded in December 2009 in discovering new oil and gas reserves. The Levant Basin is an 83,000 km2 region which engulfs Syrian, Lebanese, and Cypriot, as well as Israeli/occupied Palestine waters. It has been declared by Noble Energy that the Levant Basin’s hydrocarbon reserves are the largest resources screened by them up to this date.

The above new facts gave the Lebanese authorities the motivation to start implementing serious measures since the year 2010 to tap any potential oil and gas reserves. On February 15, 2013 the Lebanese Minister of Energy and Water (MoEW) held a press conference launching the pre-qualification process for oil companies to bid on offshore oil and gas exploration. In January 2017, and after a three-year delay, Lebanon re-launched its first oil and gas licensing round. Lebanon has opened five offshore blocks (1, 4, 8, 9 and 10) for bidding in a first licensing round of offshore oil and gas exploration in Lebanon’s Exclusive Economic Zone. In February 2017, Lebanon has also decided to join the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI) to guarantee the transparency of the process. On January 25, 2018 the cabinet of ministers signed the first two exploration and production agreements for oil and gas in Lebanon’s offshore with a consortium of oil companies (Total, Eni, and Novatek).

On May 29th, 2018 the minister of energy and water, Cezar Abi Khalil approved the exploration plans submitted by the consortium therefore, launching officially the exploration phase that will last for 3 years.

The petroleum sector in Lebanon is at an early stage, and the existence and size of recoverable reserves remain unclear. Nevertheless, the seismic surveys indicate that the reserves may be commercially viable.

Great expectations have come with the prospect of becoming a petroleum producing country, with ideas of wiping Lebanon’s monumental public debt clean, embarking on grand infrastructure projects and ushering in a new era of stability and prosperity. Unfortunately, Lebanon’s lack of experience in energy reserves presents several challenges for effective and equitable management of its resources. It is worth noting that far from the politics and the debates, qualified people are working on this topic. If these actors were given the space and freedom to work and got the needed support the economy will start to witness prosperity.

 3. Problem addressed

With all these recent developments occurring, the Lebanese Oil and Gas initiative-LOGI finds itself in the unique position of being the only registered civil society organization in Lebanon so far working exclusively on promoting the good governance of the oil and gas sector. While this situation might paint a very promising and engaging future for LOGI, it does lay on the latter’s shoulders a huge responsibility.

There are several challenges that face the nascent oil and gas sector in Lebanon. There is a fundamental lack of a participatory and inclusive approach that threatens the sound management of the sector, overall. This contributes to the growing asymmetry of information found between the different stakeholders, and jeopardizes the existence of this participatory approach that is a core requirement of good governance. A process that ensures systematic stakeholder consultations needs to be developed and adopted by the Lebanese authorities if the sector is to follow the guidelines for good governance.

To that end, LOGI is launching a call for proposals for the development of a policy brief around stakeholder consultation.

4. Project and Services to be Provided 

The Lebanese Oil and Gas Initiative (LOGI) is commissioning a 4-week consultancy on the public consultation process that is currently taking place in the oil and gas sector in Lebanon. The project is supported by Norwegian People Aid (NPA) Lebanon and funded by the Norwegian Development Agency (Norad). The goal of this consultancy is to develop a policy brief around the public consultation process tackling it from a governance perspective.

Accordingly, the consultant is requested to:

• Review the current legal framework to highlight the current status of stakeholders consultation as process (What do our laws and regulatory framework state about such types of consultations? Is it mandated by law?).
• Review the current best practices for such participatory and inclusive consultation processes adopted locally (if existing) and abroad in the oil and gas sector.
• List the different stakeholders that need to be consulted as part of the proposed stakeholder consultations, entities that would add value and reduce asymmetry of information
• Develop concrete, contextual, SMART and timely recommendations that LOGI can propose to decision makers to develop a relevant process for stakeholder consultations in the oil and gas sector.
• Once Policy brief is finalized, consultant is expected to lead on and facilitate 1 information session with members from civil society and 1 panel discussion with relevant decision makers. The purpose is to share and advocate for the recommendations put forth in the policy brief.

A. Approach

• The consultant must further optimize the overall consultancy proposal highlighted in the ToR. The researcher should propose the approach that s/he will use to deliver the consultancy service. The consultant is to include as many details as possible in her/his proposal.
• The consultant will also develop a work plan with clear milestone deliverables and timelines in consistency with the set timeframe of this assignment.
• The proposed approach and work plan should be included in the consultancy proposal to be submitted to LOGI.
• The consultant needs to include sample of his/her previous work (policy briefs/reports)

B. Deliverables

 LOGI in partnership with NPA shall decide which sections of the report to be considered as public and which are only accessible by LOGI and NPA.

5. Contract Period  

Periodical meetings will take place between LOGI focal point and the consultant during the period of the project. Adjustment of dates might be negotiated between LOGI and the consultants.

Budget  

1. Max US 3,000.00. Please note that this amount must cover any taxes that may apply. Please also note that price is a selection criterion.
2. 1,000 US facilitation fees for information session and panel discussion

The tender will be evaluated and selected based on the following criteria:

Experience required: 

• 7 to 10 years

Education degree: Other Field of education: •Proven experience in training, research, consultancy and the mentioned topics. As part of the proposal, we require a brief summary of the consultant/team of consultants that will conduct this service. This summary will highlight any relevant experience or expertise in these fields including publication list, CV, division of tasks among the team members and the percentage of work contribution for each member (if applicable) •PHD or master degree in a relevant field of study (law, Petroleum Studies, etc.) with proven track of reports/consultancies and/or publishing. •Knowledge on good governance techniques and the civil society organizations in Lebanon and preferably from other petroleum producing countries. •Knowledge on politics of Lebanon and other resource rich countries in the region. •Knowledge on sustainable resource management of the petroleum sector. •Knowledge about laws •Proven experience in organizing and conducting training workshops •Excellent written and spoken Arabic language skills.

LANGUAGES

Arabic: Excellent English: Excellent French:

Period: August 24-October 5, 2018

Submission guidelines: This tender is published publicly and open to all interested candidates, including research institutions and independent researchers. A proposal, a corresponding budget, and the data requested should be sent to the following emails:

[email protected]

[email protected]

Please Include cover letter.