Lebanese-Cypriot water committee

Bassil discusses disputed maritime borders

A joint technical committee was formed by members of the Ministry of Energy and Water and the Cypriot Ministry of Agriculture, Natural Resources, and Environment. The committee will examine collaboration in potential water and dam projects.

Minister of Energy and Water Gebran Bassil also held talks with the Cypriot Minister of Foreign Affairs Ioannis Kasoulides regarding common maritime borders and the disputed zone with Israel.

A decree to delineate the oil and gas blocks in Lebanon’s EEZ is currently awaiting Cabinet approval. This decree is necessary to protect these resources and initiate the licensing round.

The Ministry had announced earlier that Israel discovered a gas field very close to two southern maritime blocks in Lebanon’s exclusive economic zone (EEZ) and stared drilling an exploratory well only 15 km away. It had warned that Israel ‘theoretically’ had the potential to access Lebanon’s natural gas resources.

Prior to that, Cyprus had signed an agreement with Israel to launch a joint natural oil and gas exploration venture.