The Lebanese Petroleum Administration has launched its third oil and gas exploration licensing round, in which it will offer nine blocks offshore Lebanon, with bids due by 2 July 2024. Blocks 1-10 will be auctioned off, with the exception of Block 9, which went to a consortium of TotalEnergies, Eni and Novatek in 2017.
Lebanon’s its second oil and gas exploration licensing round, which was first launched in 2019 and offered eight blocks, was postponed several times notably due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Bids eventually closed for this second round at the end of June 2023.
In 2022, Israel and Lebanon finalised an agreement demarcating a contentious maritime border between the two countries, which was intended to settle a territorial dispute in the area where Lebanon intends to conduct natural gas exploration, and close to waters where Israel has discovered significant quantities of hydrocarbons. However, the current tensions between Israel and Lebanon following the situation in Gaza may jeopardise the 2022 agreement.
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