The time schedule that was set by Lebanon’s Ministry of Energy to explore and extract gas from the Lebanese maritime economic zone in the Mediterranean was once again delayed, due to the political situation and bickering between officials. The new date — which is likely to be postponed for the same reasons, despite the efforts exerted by the energy minister to prevent such a delay — is scheduled for today, Monday, Sept. 2.

On April 18, Gebran Bassil, Lebanon’s energy and water minister, announced the final list of companies that made it through the pre-qualification round and are eligible to participate in the first licensing round for gas exploration and extraction. This included 46 international oil companies, which were approved to act as operators, non-operators and right holders.

At the time, during a press conference held less than a month after the resignation of the cabinet, Bassil said that 12 companies were qualified to bid as operators, namely Anadarko, ExxonMobil, Statoil, Shell, Repsol, Maersk, Total, INPEX, Petronas, Chevron, ENI and Petrobras. In addition, 34 companies were qualified to bid as non-operator right holders.

The difference between the two categories is that operators are in charge of planning and executing the exploration and extraction processes. Non-operators, on the other hand, are responsible for other aspects, notably legal and financial issues. To prevent any potential monopoly, the Lebanese Hydrocarbon (Offshore) Law No. 132 of 2010 stipulates that the operator must establish a consortium comprising at least two other companies. The latter two, along with the operator, shall be financially and legally responsible.