Prime Minister Najib Mikati announced his cabinet lineup on September 10 after a 13-month deadlock.
The cabinet is the result of a delicate balance of power between the major political forces. It is confronted with a herculean task: addressing the …
Walid Fayad appointed Energy Minister in the new Mikati government Read More »
The coronavirus pandemic has rattled global oil markets in unprecedented ways. First, the failure of OPEC+ to agree on a collective response to the crisis early March drove a wedge between Saudi Arabia and Russia and threatens to flood the …
The impact of Covid-19 on the Lebanese oil and gas sector Read More »
PM designate Hassan Diab announced his cabinet lineup on January 21, 2020. To deal with the most severe financial and economic crisis in decades, Diab, and the political parties that have agreed to join this one-sided cabinet, picked a 20-member …
Lebanon: Raymond Ghajar, new Minister of Energy and Water Read More »
The first six months of 2019 saw an unusual series of meetings between Lebanese and Egyptian officials, with energy cooperation at the core of these discussions. If memory serves well, the frequency is unprecedented:
January 18, 2019: A meeting …
Gas sector as a catalyst for closer cooperation between Lebanon and Egypt Read More »
The cabinet approved the launching of Lebanon’s second offshore oil & gas licensing round in its latest session on April 4, 2019. Energy Minister Nada Boustani officially announced the launching of the tender in a press conference on April 5.…
Lebanon launches its second offshore oil & gas licensing round Read More »
Energy Ministers from Egypt, Cyprus, Greece, Israel, Italy, Jordan and the Palestinian Authority took an important step in Cairo toward establishing an Eastern Mediterranean Gas Forum (EMGF) on January 14. According to the declaration that followed the meeting, the EMGF …
The Eastern Mediterranean Gas Forum: A Lebanese perspective Read More »
PM Saad Hariri announced his cabinet lineup on January 31, after nearly nine months of intense negotiations over ministerial shares and portfolios. On paper, this cabinet’s lifespan could extend until the end of President Michel Aoun’s mandate, barring a major …
Lebanon: Nada Boustani, new Minister of Energy and Water Read More »
The year 2018 saw the translation of companies’ interest in the Eastern Mediterranean – following the discovery of Zohr, in Egypt, in 2015 – into concrete projects, and the confirmation of the region’s potential with a new and promising discovery …
Oil & Gas in East Med: 2018 roundup and what to expect in 2019 Read More »
Preparations for the launching of Lebanon’s second offshore licensing round have begun. The Lebanese Petroleum Administration has published a tentative timeline for the tender, which will be officially launched by the end of 2018. The process, including the pre-qualification phase, …
Lebanon’s second licensing round: Lessons learned and the case for stability Read More »
Since 2013, MESP is frequently solicited by the SKeyes Center for Media and Cultural Freedom at the Samir Kassir Foundation to monitor and evaluate Lebanese media’s coverage of the oil & gas sector and provide training sessions for journalists working …
Lebanese media coverage of the oil & gas sector – 2018 Read More »
The country’s finances were in disarray. The Finance Minister flew to Moscow in a last-ditch attempt to seal a deal that would secure Russia a stake in its offshore gas resources, in return for a financial support that would spare …
Lessons from Cyprus: Lebanon needs to manage oil & gas expectations Read More »
The Ministry of Energy and Water published the full text of the exploration and production contracts signed with the consortium made up of Total, Eni and Novatek. Lebanon is the first country in the Eastern Mediterranean to disclose signed agreements…
Lebanon’s oil & gas sector is stepping into the implementation phase Read More »