There is a new debate brewing in the small circles that discuss the best governance practices for oil and gas in Lebanon. While the caveats made Fouad Makhzoumi sound reluctant, he picked a side. The owner of a pipeline design and manufacturing concern, Makhzoumi wears his political ambition on his sleeve. He has run for elected office before and lost, but seems to be gearing up for another battle.

At a live broadcast of a May 26 forum focusing on Lebanon’s oil and gas potential, which he co-organized, Makhzoumi urged attendees and those watching at home to support the country’s oil and gas regulator. Makhzoumi admitted that he first assumed the regulator’s six-member board was staffed with political appointees beholden to the sectarian leaders that chose them. Visiting their offices to see them in action, however, convinced him they were doing serious work, he said. He added that it’s best to just stick with the system in place, which was established nearly six years ago, for now.

As far as Lebanese political drama goes, this is nothing. (Remember when Druze politician Walid Jumblatt referred to Christian leader Samir Geagea as “What’s his name”?) But it’s a new twist in the debate about how Lebanon should best extract and monetize “the devil’s excrement” should it be found buried beneath the waves in the country’s offshore acreage.

In 2010, the Lebanese parliament passed a law that governs offshore oil and gas activities. Hydrocarbon policy (meaning the highest level decisions) fell to the Cabinet. The Ministry of Energy was assigned a role, and the law also called for establishing a semi-independent regulator — the Petroleum Administration (PA). In many ways, it was the perfect Lebanese compromise. Without full independence, the PA does not take power from the ministry. Board seats are naturally divided equally among Christians and Muslims (with the necessary suballocations), and the presidency rotates on an annual basis, meaning no one faith or sect has permanent control.