The pre-Qualification Decree 9882/2013 issued on 21 February 2013 officially opened the Pre-Qualification Round for oil and gas companies wishing to participate in Lebanon’s first offshore licensing round. Companies were offered to submit applications to pre-qualify either as an Operator[1] or Non Operator[2]. The decree set high standards for companies wishing to participate including Technical, Legal, Financial and Quality, Health, Safety and Environment requirements (QHSE). The pre-qualification process closed on 28 March 2013. In April 2013, caretakerminister of Energy and Water Gebran Bassil announced the results.
Out of 52 companies, from 25 different countries, 46 were successful. Out of 16 companies, 12 pre-qualified as Right-Holders Operators: Anadarko (USA), Petrobras (Brazil), Chevron (USA), ExxonMobil (USA), ENI (Italy), Maersk (Denmark), Repsol (Spain), Shell (Netherlands), Statoil (Norway), Total (France), Inpex (Japan), Petronas (Malaysia). The remaining 4 did not pre-qualify for not meeting one or more of the eligibility criteria.