TotalEnergies announces the arrival of a drilling rig offshore Lebanon

TotalEnergies is preparing to start drilling for oil in the disputed waters between Lebanon and Israel. The French energy giant is moving ahead with its Italian partner Eni in exploring the potential Cana field, marking a crucial step in the process.

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TotalEnergies announced on Wednesday the arrival of a platform off the Lebanese coast to begin drilling exploration wells at the end of the month, following an agreement delimiting the maritime border between Lebanon and Israel in this area.

TotalEnergies begins offshore oil exploration between Lebanon and Israel

The two countries, technically in a state of war, signed an agreement delimiting their maritime border in October 2022, after lengthy American mediation. It allows Lebanon to begin exploration in “Block 9”, the site of the potential Qana field, part of which lies in Israel’s territorial waters, in return for compensation to be paid to the Israeli state by the operating company. The French hydrocarbon giant, its Italian partner Eni and Qatar Energy had announced in May that they had signed a contract with Transocean Barents to use the rig.

In a press release, TotalEnergies announced “the arrival of the drilling rig (…) on Block 9, around 120 km off the coast of Beirut”.

The first helicopter to transport the teams to this aircraft has also arrived at Beirut airport, according to the French company.

“The arrival of these rigs marks an important step in preparing for the drilling of the exploration well on Block 9, which will begin towards the end of August 2023,” says the press release. “A new page is being written today. When the crew and logistics are ready in a few days’ time, drilling will begin”, said Lebanese Energy Minister Walid Fayad on Wednesday, on the sidelines of his operational visit to the helipad. The results of the drilling will be known in two or three months, he added.

TotalEnergies had announced at the beginning of the year that the exploration process for Cana would be completed by the end of the year, following a difficult process that is expected to cost around $100 million (around 92 million euros). The Lebanese authorities are counting on the presence of natural resources to cope with the economic crisis triggered in 2019, described by the World Bank as one of the worst crises of modern times. Analysts agree, however, that it will take several years for Beirut to begin the exploitation phase, should a sufficient quantity of gas be discovered to ensure profitability.

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