Offshore gas exploration
in Block 8 agreement signed

New licensing rounds to expand to other areas

Hopes for a long-awaited energy breakthrough has been revived with the agreement for offshore oil and gas exploration amidst risks posed by regional instability and past disappointments.
The Ministry of Energy and Water (MoEW), signed a gas exploration agreement for Block 8 with a consortium comprising TotalEnergies, ENI, and Qatar Energy (which replaced the Russian company Novatek).

Under the agreement, the consortium will carry out a 3D seismic survey of Block 8, an area of around 1,200 square kilometers. The process leading to a drilling decision will unfold in three stages: issuing the terms and conditions for awarding the seismic survey contract, processing the collected data, and interpreting the results. Based on this interpretation, a decision will be taken on whether to drill an exploratory well. “The survey will allow for improved geological and technical knowledge of Block 8 and an assessment of the available opportunities according to MoEW. The entire process preceding a drilling decision should not exceed three years.

Block 8 entered the exploration phase following the completion of two maritime border demarcation agreements, first in the South in 2023, and last year with Cyprus. The block carries heightened expectations. Despite these challenges, MoEW argues that the presence of a major international consortium in Lebanese waters is itself a confidence-building factor, capable of attracting further investment and signaling renewed seriousness in developing the offshore petroleum sector. In parallel, the ministry and the Lebanese Petroleum Administration (LPA) are preparing to launch a fourth licensing round, aimed at expanding exploration across the territorial waters, which are divided into 10 offshore blocks.
From a technical standpoint, officials at the LPA say previous drilling setbacks should not be read as failures. LPA board member Wissam Chbat, and head of its Geology and Geophysics Unit, said the wells drilled in Block 4 in 2020 and Block 9 in 2023 yielded valuable geological insights.

According to Chbat, drilling in Block 9 confirmed the extension of geological layers from the Palestinian offshore basin into Lebanese waters. This reduces exploration risk and supports the hypothesis that similar layers may extend into Block 8 with greater thickness than those encountered in Block 9, where no commercially viable quantities were found. The planned 3D seismic survey, he added, is critical for pinpointing drilling locations and assessing layer thickness in comparison with nearby fields where commercial gas has been discovered.

These renewed efforts come after a series of dashed hopes that began in 2020, when anticipation ran high that the country would join the ranks of gas-producing nations following the start of drilling in Block 4. That optimism faded when the consortium of Total, ENI, and Novatek concluded that the block contained no commercially viable quantities of gas. Hopes were cautiously revived three years later with drilling in Block 9 in southern waters, only to be tempered once again by similar findings. Block 8 now represents the latest chapter in the quest to unlock its offshore energy potential.