posted by INTEL-DROP August 22, 2023 0 comment

TotalEnergies explained in a statement that the actual drilling process would begin in the coming days

News DeskAUG 22, 2023

(Photo credit: Twitter)

French and Italian energy firms, TotalEnergies and Eni – along with Doha’s state-owned QatarEnergy – announced on 22 August the start of exploration activity in Lebanon’s maritime economic zone.

“Following the peaceful definition of the maritime border, TotalEnergies, along with its partners Eni and QatarEnergy, committed to drill an exploration well in Block 9 as soon as possible in 2023,” Romain de La Martiniere, General Manager of TotalEnergies in Lebanon, said.

“We are pleased to announce that the drilling operations will start in a few days, thanks to the commitment of our teams, the support of the Lebanese authorities, and of our partners. This exploration well will allow us to assess the materiality of hydrocarbon resources and production potential in the area,” he added.

“TotalEnergies is the operator of Block 9 Offshore Lebanon, and holds a 35 percent interest, alongside its partners Eni (35 percent) and QatarEnergy (30 percent).”

The launching took place in the presence of Lebanon’s Parliament Speaker caretaker Prime Minister, Nabih Berri, and Najib Mikati, who flew via helicopter to the site of the Transocean Barents gas rig, which arrived in Lebanon earlier this month.

Also present was Lebanese Energy Minister Walid Fayyad, Transport Minister Ali Hamieh, and a delegation from the Lebanese Petroleum Administration.

A tour of the drilling rig was carried out alongside a TotalEnergies delegation.

In October 2022, signed a maritime border demarcation agreement with Israel which had been negotiated indirectly. The agreement saw Lebanon gain access to the offshore Qana gas field and finally demarcate the borders within which it is permitted to extract gas, following years of dispute with Israel.

While Hezbollah was not involved in the maritime negotiations, it continued to act as a guarantor that the rights of the Lebanese state in the negotiations were not overstepped – as Israel had announced plans to begin exploration in the Karish gas field before an agreement had been reached.

Due to numerous threats by the resistance group, including a stern warning that the Karish gas rig would be struck with missiles, the agreement was signed without escalation.

At the end of last month, the Lebanese parliament’s Finance and Budget Committee proposed the establishment of a sovereign wealth fund to begin amassing oil revenue for the country’s benefit following the gas extraction process – in light of the severe economic crisis Lebanon faces.

Lebanese officials have expressed that the start of gas exploration could represent potential economic recovery for the cash-strapped nation.

“In this darkness comes a day of joy for which I have worked for long years, until the framework agreement was finally concluded,” Berri said.

The caretaker prime minister expressed “hope that everybody will cooperate in the upcoming stage in order to revive our country and end the deterioration that we are witnessing on all levels,” adding that the coming days would bring “promising signs.”

Ex-Israel MK declares Lebanon blast as ‘gift from God’

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August 5, 2020 at 4:45 pm

Former Israeli Member of the Knesset Moshe Feiglin, 13 April 2017 [safa]

Former Israeli Member of the Knesset Moshe Feiglin gleefully hailed yesterday’s devastating explosion in Beirut as a “gift” from God in time for the Jewish festival Tu B’Av.

Feiglin posted on Facebook that he thanked God that the deadly blast took place in Beirut, and claimed it was just in time for Tu B’Av, which is a festival of love, and in modern times has become a romantic Jewish holiday for dancing, handing out flowers and singing.

“Today is Tu B’Av, a day of joy, and a true and huge thank you to G-d and all the geniuses and heroes really (!) who organized for us this wonderful celebration in honor of the day of love.”

He went on to speculate that the explosion was no accident, claiming he had “experience” in explosives. He said: “You don’t really believe that this was some messy fuel warehouse, yeah? Do you understand that this hell was supposed to fall on us as a rain of missiles?! I have some experience with explosives. The largest explosion I took part in was 2.5 tons of TNT.”

He added: “What we saw yesterday at the Port of Beirut was much bigger. The destructive effect (without the radiation) was like a nuclear bomb.”

READ: Lebanese search for missing online, open homes to needy after massive blast

In an interview with local radio, the former Likud MK said he hoped Israel was responsible for the blast, and that he was allowed to “rejoice” that it was Beirut and not Tel Aviv.

He said: “If it was us, and I hope it was us, then we should be proud of it, and with that we will create a balance of terror. By avoiding saying it’s us – we are putting ourselves on the dark side of morality.”

He continued: “We are all allowed to rejoice that it exploded in the port of Beirut and not in Tel Aviv.”

A warehouse in Beirut exploded on 4 August , injuring thousands and killing at least 100, with the death toll rising.

The blast was initially attributed to a shipment of fireworks, but it was later revealed to be 2,750 tonnes of highly explosive ammonium nitrate sitting in a warehouse which ignited, causing the huge explosion.

The massive blast was said to be heard from Cyprus.