Qatar interested in joining oil consortium in Mediterranean: Minister

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: Agencies
14 Oct 2022 17:09

Qatar expresses interest in joining a consortium to explore for oil in the eastern Mediterranean sea.

Lebanese caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati with Energy Minister Walid Fayyad (Archive)

Lebanon's caretaker Energy Minister, Walid Fayyad, pointed out Friday that Qatar has expressed an interest in joining a consortium, involving energy companies Eni and TotalEnergies, that is exploring for oil in the eastern Mediterranean sea.

On Twitter, the official cabinet account cited Fayyad - following his meeting with Lebanese caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati - as saying that the consortium was exploring for oil in blocks 4 and 9 in the region.

The Lebanese Minister stressed the importance of this step, thanking Qatar for investing in building the Lebanese economy.

During the meeting, Fayyad discussed with Mikati the necessity of supporting the Petroleum Administration with the human cadre to keep pace with and manage the coming stage, indicating that the Lebanese Prime Minister was responsive in this regard.

Earlier this week, Lebanon and the Israeli occupation reached a US-brokered agreement on the demarcation of the maritime border.

Lebanese President approves maritime deal with 'Israel', reveals details

Lebanese President Michel Aoun announced on Thursday that Lebanon agreed to adopt the final formula prepared by the US mediator Amos Hochstein to demarcate the southern maritime borders.

In a televised speech, Aoun stressed that "this agreement responds to the Lebanese demands and preserves our rights in full," stressing that this achievement would not have been completed without the unified Lebanese stance.

"Lebanon did not pave the way to any kind of the rejected normalization," the Lebanese President said, hoping that the end of the negotiations would be "a promising beginning that lays the foundation for an economic revival that Lebanon needs through completing oil exploration."

The Lebanese President stressed that "Lebanon did not concede not even a kilometer to 'Israel', as we obtained the entire Qana field and refused to recognize the Israeli buoys' line."

Aoun addressed the Lebanese people by saying, "Your resistance has proven to be an element of power for Lebanon, and you have contributed to fortifying the Lebanese position in negotiation as well as in confrontation."

"The 8, 9, and 10 oil fields in our exclusive economic zone were under threat, but we were able to protect them thanks to the agreement," he added, explaining that "the next step should be resolving the disputed region between Lebanon and Syria through brotherly discussions."

"What we reached yesterday in the file of marine demarcation and later exploration and extraction, was not spur of the moment, but rather the fruit of a long process that began in 2010 when the Ministry of Energy and Water, which was headed by Minister Gebran Bassil, prepared a draft law on petroleum resources in Lebanese marine waters," Aoun noted.

"In parallel with the work on oil and gas exploration, Lebanon had to carry out the process of demarcating its maritime borders and correcting errors that occurred in the demarcation with Cyprus, which 'Israel' exploited to submit to the United Nations line No. 1. Consequently, Lebanon had to submit to the United Nations line 23, which had been defined by Decree 6433 in 2011," he explained.

He went on to say that "Lebanon has become an oil-producing country, and what was once a dream has become a reality today thanks to our steadfastness," noting that energy company TotalEnergies "will have to start exploration to compensate the country for the years that have passed without oil and gas being extracted."

Aoun said that "the next step should be to hold talks with Syria to resolve the disputed area with it, which is more than 900 square kilometers, through brotherly discussions," adding that "the borders drawn with Cyprus should also be reviewed and then to decide what should be done in the future."

On Wednesday, Aoun affirmed that the maritime border agreement "will pull Lebanon out of the abyss."

This comes after Hezbollah Secretary-General Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah underlined on Tuesday that the resistance was in a highly decisive period regarding the demarcation of the Lebanese maritime borders.

"Until the agreement is signed, we must remain cautious in light of the contradictory Israeli statements," he added, noting that the case will be closed for the Resistance when the Lebanese President declares his position in support of the agreement.

The Israeli occupation cabinet approved on Wednesday the US-brokered maritime border agreement with Lebanon, with all its members voting in favor, except Interior Minister Ayelet Shaked who abstained, Israeli media reported.