Lebanon’s Minister
of State for Administrative Development Inaya Ezzeddine Sunday called
on state officials to invest in material infrastructure and human
resources to benefit from the recently discovered oil in the country,
state media said. “We hope that state and energy ministry officials deal
with this fortune … with extreme transparency, wisdom, and proper investment,” the minister was quoted as saying by the National News Agency.
Ezzeddine
demanded the renovation of ports, hospitals and infrastructure
necessary for facilitating oil exploration off the Lebanese coast. “The
state must start preparing youth to enter the new labor market with
high-quality expertise in line with global standards,” Ezzeddine then
added.
She also called for a comprehensive evaluation and
improvement of technical and vocational institutes graduating
technicians in the oil field. “The maximum number possible of Lebanese youth must be enabled to work in the new labor market,” she said.
Ezzeddine spoke during a ceremony held in her honor in the south Lebanon city of Tyre.
Lebanon’s Cabinet Wednesday approved two crucial gas and oil exploration decrees, putting an end to the long-delayed matter in the Cabinet’s first meeting since winning a confidence vote.
The
two decrees could pave the way for the first licensing round of
offshore gas exploration in Lebanon’s Exclusive Economic Zone by
designating the blocks that would be open for bidding.
The decrees are necessary to set out the blocks that are up for auction and a revenue sharing model.
There
is a territorial dispute between Lebanon and Israel over a region of
800 square kilometers on the border between both countries. Both Lebanon
and Israel claim ownership of that maritime area.
Seismic studies
carried out starting in 2013 have shown that Lebanon may possess
trillions of cubic feet of oil and natural gas in its waters, a
discovery which could boost international confidence in Lebanon’s
economic future.
Ezzeddine called upon the government to start
drafting studies to tackle the risks in oil exploration in addition to
establishing safety standards and implementing them properly and firmly.
“We
also call on the government to supervise the quality and prices in a
bid to secure the right to competition while avoiding monopoly in this
sector,” she said.
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