BEIRUT: Lebanon could see a breakthrough in the stalled offshore oil and gas exploration early next year after Speaker Nabih Berri and MP Michel Aoun reportedly agreed on a compromise that settled the dispute over the designation of blocs.
Speaking to Ashaqr Al-Awsat in remarks published Saturday, Change and Reform bloc MP Hikmat Dib said Berri and Aoun had agreed to auction off maritime blocks closest to Israel ina move to block the Jewish state from siphoning off gas and oil from Lebanon's territory.
"A few days ago, there was an agreement to auction [the blocs] based on importance and danger especially [near] the so-called Karish oil field, which Israel is digging into and is 4 kilometers away from Lebanese waters,” Dib, a member of Aoun’s parliamentary bloc, said.
"Berri and Aoun are keen on not giving Israel a chance to take advantage of Lebanese reserves, and we can no longer delay."
Aoun’s son-in-law, Gebran Bassil, was energy minister during the prelicensing round, while the current minister, Arthur Nazarian, is a member of his parliamentary bloc.
Last August, the Lebanese government postponed for the fifth time the first round of licensing for offshore gas exploration due to political disagreements, raising concerns that the continued delay would discourage international oil firms.
Berri has sought to auction off all 10 oil and gas blocks at the same time, while Aoun maintained that Lebanon should only auction a few, undisputed blocs.
Lebanon and Israel both lay claim to roughly 850 square kilometers of maritime area that is thought to have high potential for natural gas extraction.
Berri warned last week that Israel had started siphoning off gas from one of Lebanon’s reserves in an area close to the southern border with Israel, prompting the speaker to hold a series of meetings with lawmakers and experts to end the dispute over the designation of the blocks.
The pan-Arab daily reported that two crucial oil decrees, which Berri has long urged the Cabinet to approve, would be passed in the first months of 2015.
The decrees would set the number of blocks and establish the revenue mechanism as well as a tax policy for gas and oil exploration.
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