In January 2017, the Lebanese government passed a series of decrees authorizing its first offshore licensing round, covering five of Lebanon’s 10 offshore blocks. The Lebanese Petroleum Administration (“LPA”) continues to prequalify interested operators and non-operators for its offshore licensing round with bids due September 15.
On Thursday, July 6, 2017, Mayer Brown hosted an exclusive breakfast meeting where The Minister of Energy and Waters of Lebanon, His Excellency Cesar Khalil and Wissam Chbat, Chairman of the LPA discussed Lebanon’s emerging petroleum sector and investment opportunities.
Topics included:
- Criteria and procedures to acquire a license
- Potential for domestic and international utilization of Lebanon’s gas
- Legal and institutional framework (governance, tax law, regulations)
- Lebanon’s Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ), including the open blocks and the associated geological data and prospectivity
- Competitive geographical advantages: export routes, proximity to major markets
- Political risk assessment