Miqati, Bassil Stress Need to Push forward Petroleum File
Caretaker Premier Najib Miqati held talks on Monday with Energy Minister Jebran Bassil who warned last week that Israel's discovery of a new offshore gas field near Lebanese territorial waters means the Jewish state could siphon some of Lebanon's crude oil.
“Oil and gas exploration are a priority because we are keen on preserving our natural resources,” Miqati said in remarks published in As Safir newspaper.
Future oil exploration would largely contribute to paying off Lebanon's public debts, he said.
“The cabinet has previously taken a series of important decisions in that regard, but more steps are required,” the caretaker PM said.
Miqati's talks with Bassil focused on the necessary measures to move the process forward and holding an extraordinary cabinet session to ratify decrees paving way for the country to start oil and gas explorations.
Bassil said after the talks that the cabinet session would be aimed at issuing a decision on launching a round of tenders “in order for Lebanon to fulfill its international commitments seeing as several major oil companies have made additional investments in the country.”
“The decision should be approved in order for us to maintain and protect our petroleum wealth,” he added.
He said that he will continue his efforts to this end with all concerned officials “because this issue concerns all Lebanese.”
The ball is now in President Michel Suleiman and Miqati's court, Bassil said.
“Our international reputation will be jeopardized if Lebanon does not respect its commitments,” he stressed.
“We must demonstrate that we have a state that protects our petroleum resources,” he continued.
Bassil revealed that he will hold talks with Berri on Tuesday on the petroleum file.
He had said on Friday that Israel could "in principle" drill either vertically or horizontally in its new field, potentially reaching Lebanon's deposits if the two nations' fields are joined at the sea bottom.
Israel's new field is about 4 kilometers from Lebanon's territorial waters.
Miqati vowed that his government would closely follow up the issue, including keeping its contacts with the United Nations to prevent Israel from infringing on Lebanon's oil resources.
Recent Israeli discoveries of oil and gas deposits in the Mediterranean Sea have raised tensions between Lebanon and Israel that are bickering over a zone that consists of about 854 square kilometers and suspected energy reserves there could generate billions of dollars.
Beirut argues that a maritime map it submitted to the U.N. is in line with an armistice accord drawn up in 1949, an agreement which is not contested by Israel.
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