The caretaker Minister of Energy and Water, Walid Fayad, announced on Thursday during a press conference the launch of a three-dimensional (3D) seismic study of the seabed of block no.8 in the exclusive economic zone (EEZ) off the Lebanese coast, which is potentially rich in natural gas.  Fayad indicated that the license for the study was awarded to the companies Geoex MCG, based in the United Kingdom, and Brightskies Geoscience (BGS), established in Egypt, after a direct negotiation procedure was led by the Ministry. He added that the operation should enhance Lebanon's attractiveness to oil companies, to which he hopes to grant new exploration and exploitation licenses.  Meanwhile, drilling has begun in block No. 9, by the consortium composed of French company TotalEnergies, Italian company Eni, and QatarEnergy, which replaced the Russian company Novatek at the beginning of the year. The consortium acquired the first exploration and exploitation licenses granted by Lebanon for block No. 9 in 2018. The consortium hopes to discover sufficient gas reserves to start extraction. (ICE BEIRUT)

Fonte notizia: L'Orient Today