Lebanon’s tender process for offshore
exploration and production stalled in 2013 because political deadlock
left the country with no president for 2-1/2 years and squabbling
between parties prevented the passage of necessary laws. But
late last year, a president and prime minister were chosen. A newly
formed government restarted the tender process in January by passing two
important hydrocarbon decrees and holding a pre-qualification round in
April.

Uncertainty reared its head again when
President Michel Aoun suspended parliament for a month in mid-April,
temporarily blocking plans to extend the assembly’s term with no popular
vote for a third time since 2013 to try to push for electoral law
reforms and to hold a parliamentary election.
  But
oil and gas will no longer be subject to political deadlock, the
chairman of the board of directors of the Lebanese Petroleum
Administration, Wissam Chbat, told the third Lebanon International Oil
and Gas Summit in Beirut. “We are decoupled from
the political track, there has been a lot of consensus from all
political parties towards achieving a successful bid round. Everyone is
putting his effort towards achieving that,” Chbat said.

The
delay in development has come at a cost, Chbat told Reuters, as oil and
gas prices have fallen significantly and east Mediterranean neighbors
such as Egypt, Cyprus and Israel have been developing their sectors. “In 2013 we had better dynamics for the industry, better prices for oil and gas and better conditions,” Chbat said. The
Lebanese government has estimated with a probability of 50 percent it
has 96 trillion cubic feet of natural gas reserves and 865 million
barrels of oil offshore, but the true size of the reserves cannot be
known until exploration begins. “There is much more than the local market needs and a big portion of it would be for export,” Chbat said. Chbat said 60 targets had been identified as potential reservoirs.

Lebanon could pass a taxation law needed for the hydrocarbon sector this month, Chbat said.