It was stated in Al Markaziya:
Last week, the French company “Total Energy” and its partner, the Italian “Eni”, signed a framework agreement with Israel to implement the maritime border agreement recently reached with Lebanon. Total Energy in Lebanon manages exploration block 9 and holds 60% of the development shares, while Eni holds 40%.
The Block 9 partners will begin exploration of an already identified gas site, which could extend into both Block 9 and Israeli waters south of the recently established sea boundary line.
Expert in oil affairs, lawyer Christina Abi Haidar, explains to Markaziya, that “Lebanon has no direct relationship with the aforementioned agreement … It is a continuation of the agreement signed between it and Israel under American auspices, which provides that Israel and Total will sign a profit-sharing agreement in the Qana field.
Here he underlines “the need to review the terms and conditions of the agreement on the basis of the principle of transparency and to ascertain the extent of the impact of the agreement on Lebanon”. He is amazed “how Lebanon has not taken any steps after signing the agreement that delimits its maritime borders with Israel, as it should complete the dossier”.
It is expected that “the Israel-Total agreement will attract other companies”, recalling the withdrawal of “Novatek” from the alliance “Total” and “Eni” and the acquisition by the Lebanese state of its share.
And on Qatar’s entry online, Abi Haidar says that “nothing is tangible up to now and nothing is officially documented, just gossip and nothing more… Up to now, Lebanon has not signed any agreement with Qatar in this field”.
And he adds: From now until gas and oil are explored in the territorial waters of Lebanon, the Lebanese state must play its primary role in this field, and so far it has done nothing, particularly from the legislative point of view, in particular the establishment of the sovereign wealth fund and the national company … etc. At least prepare the legislative room. And with Lebanon’s acquisition of Novatek’s stake, it must have a national company.
And he underlines “the importance of carrying out the required reforms and excluding any political interference in this sector. If we decide to start exploration next spring, there are many things that have not been done so far, including the rehabilitation of infrastructure.. We must achieve the reforms required to be ready for exploration, not The file remains vulnerable to corruption, waste and political meddling.
In conclusion, he underlines “the need to elect a president for the republic, form an effective government, initiate reforms and complete negotiations with the International Monetary Fund, in parallel with the shift of pending legal aspects, such as the establishment of the sovereign wealth fund and the national company…”.
Summarizing the facts, the question remains: “Can Lebanon direct exploration operations where the exclusive economic zones between Lebanon, Israel and Cyprus meet, despite the restrictions imposed by the demarcation agreement with Israel, and which required its approval of the final stages of exploration, exploration and mining?” Which suggests that the real goal was achieved by Israel. Not from Lebanon, especially since the Lebanese concession appeared in the presence of “common deposits” which required the company “Total Energy” to sign an agreement with Israel to share shares of the profits!
