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Did Washington ask Lebanon to negotiate with Israel over oil?

An agreement for Lebanon to begin exploiting oil and gas reserves in the Mediterranean appears to have been put on hold following an American request that Lebanon negotiate with Israel to resolve their maritime border dispute.
The cables of a side-scan sonar is seen in the waters of the Mediterranean sea, during a tour of areas believed to have gas reserves, off Lebanon's coast near Beirut May 30, 2013. Offshore seismic surveys suggest Lebanon has at least 30 trillion cubic feet in just a small fraction of its Mediterranean waters Energy Minister Gebran Bassil said. Lebanon has selected 46 international oil companies to bid to explore for gas off its coast, where survey ships have been assessing prospects after discoveries in wat
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Companies in the oil and gas business in Lebanon have generally been at a standstill following the resignation of Prime Minister Najib Mikati's government on March 22, 2013. The oil and gas sector returned to the spotlight in recent months only to have the curtain soon close again.

Foreign Minister Gebran Bassil told Al-Monitor that when he served as energy minister in Mikati's government, he had responsibility for every matter related to gas reserves in the maritime economic areas belonging to Lebanon in the Mediterranean Sea. When Mikati resigned, his Cabinet had some unfinished business related to oil and gas, namely passing two crucial decrees to begin the licensing process, which was scheduled for August 2013, Bassil said. One decree provided for putting Lebanon’s 10 offshore blocks up for bidding and outlining technical details for a model contract to be signed between the state and the winning bidders. The other decree was the draft law on the taxes oil companies will be required to pay. But the licensing process has never begun.

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