Following a framework agreement signed last month with Italy’s Eni, TotalEnergies will begin drilling its new Lebanon Block 9 offshore gas project next year.
“Pre-orders have also been placed with suppliers for equipment required,” the company said in a statement.
In Lebanon, TotalEnergies is the operator of exploration Block 9 and holds a 60 percent interest, alongside its partner Eni, which holds 40 percent.
TotalEnergies CEO Patrick Pouyanne stated that the drilling operations teams had been mobilized.
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“By the end of March, the team mobilized in Beirut will reach more than 20 employees,” said the company.
The French energy company’s teams are working in collaboration with the Lebanese Petroleum Association and Eni to complete drilling “as soon as possible” in 2023, TotalEnergies said.
In October, the French oil and gas major reached a deal with the Lebanese government on the fate of the gas field.
The initial exploration license for Block 9 was held by a consortium of TotalEnergies, Italy’s Eni, and Russia’s Novatek, but the structure of the deal had been restructured after Novatek exited the group as a result of the war in Ukraine.
Over the last decade, major gas discoveries have been made offshore in the eastern Mediterranean and the Levant. Since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine disrupted flows, interest in them has grown.
