Lebanon seems to be on schedule for its first round of exploratory oil and gas drilling to begin in a northern maritime area before the end of 2019, with the site of its first exploratory well chosen  in late April. 

“This is the well that will be drilled in Bloc 4 before the end of 2019,” Walid Nasr, the caretaker head of the Lebanese Petroleum Administration, said in a video shared on Energy Minister Nada Boustani’s official account. The LPA are going about their role in caretaker status, after their terms expired in December.

According to the video, the well lies in the southern portion of Bloc 4, approximately 30 kilometers from Beirut.

Nasr had previously noted drilling would begin in Bloc 4 before the end of 2019, to be followed by southern Bloc 9 in early 2020.

In March, the qualified consortium - made up of France’s Total, Italy’s Eni and Russia’s Novatek - began maritime environmental surveys in both blocs. These surveys were completed in April, while further surveys  - the environmental impact and social baseline assessments - are set to be completed in the next few months.

Once surveys are completed, exploratory drilling can begin.

Photo source: Twitter account HE. Minister of Energy & Water Nada Boustani