Can Lebanon begin offshore gas drilling by the end of 2015!?!
International energy companies will be able to start drilling for gas off the Lebanese coast during the 2016 if the decrees concerning the number of blocks and the mechanism of revenue sharing will be approved at the first quarter of 2015.
In this case companies will have sufficient time to make their bidding on September – October 2015. If everything goes according to the plan, international oil companies can start the actual drilling at the beginning of 2016 or mid 2016 at the latest.
Lebanon's economy could be significantly enhanced due to the potential of the oil and gas industry; A good plan would maximize the benefits of this sector to the economy, in terms of creating job opportunities (more than 50,000 jobs) for Lebanese in the areas of electricity production and in the petrochemical industry.