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Lebanon Seeks to Make The Most of Hydrocarbons

Lebanon seeks to avoid a false euphoria and make the most of a potential oil and gas windfall.
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 waters off neighb

Oil and gas is a much contested topic in Lebanon. There is so much euphoria among the Lebanese, especially the politicians and oil experts, each with their own visions and plans, each with their own agendas and interests. Lebanon’s oil and gas has caught everyone’s imagination. The political factions, with their business oligarchy subdivisions and militias, managed to collude to kick-start Lebanon’s oil race and form the Petroleum Administration, the governing body for the oil and gas sector, during the tenure of the Mikati government. Fifty-two companies vied for Lebanon’s oil and gas during the first licensing round. But with international interest in Lebanon's hydrocarbon reserves dwindling, or at least temporarily stalled because of the crises in the region, many specialists are echoing Citibank’s research: Will it be Cinderella or Sleeping Beauty?
 
Oil or gas?

Oil or natural gas? In the early stages of exploration, this question remains a game of guessing. It is also far more loaded than its simplicity implies. Far from just being different products, they are two different markets, two different supply chains and infrastructure, two different policy strategies and two different income prospectuses. The data show accumulations of both oil and gas, technically lumped under one category: hydrocarbons.

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