Lebanon Outraged As Israel Moves Forward With Gas Drilling Plans

Lebanon outraged as Israel moves forward with gas drilling plans

 TZVI JOFFRE 

Lebanese officials expressed outrage on Saturday after a gas field service company announced last week that it had been awarded a contract to execute a drilling campaign for Greek energy producer Energean off the coast of northern Israel.

The Halliburton Company will collaborate with Energean on three to five well drilling and completions in the Karish North natural gas field, located near Israel's disputed maritime border with Lebanon. The gas field is expected to contain about 1.14 trillion cubic feet (tcf) of gas reserves, according to Energean.

"We are excited to build on our strong relationship with Energean and honored to once again be selected to deliver integrated project management services that maximize the value of their offshore Mediterranean wells,” said Ahmed Kenawi, senior vice president of Europe, Eurasia and Sub-Saharan Africa Region at Halliburton. “This campaign will deliver a fully integrated solution using our Halliburton 4.0 digital platform and drilling technologies to optimize well delivery.”

Israel and Lebanon began US-mediated negotiations concerning their maritime border last year, although talks hit a bump earlier this year when Lebanon increased its demands with a line extending much further south then their original claims, increasing the disputed area from 860 sq.km. to 2,300 sq.km, which would include at least part of the Karish North field.

Israel has rejected the extended claims made by Lebanon, although Energy Minister Karin Elharrar stated in June that “despite Israel’s strong legal case, we are willing to consider creative solutions to bring the matter to a close.”

Israel has become an energy powerhouse in the region in recent years after a number of natural gas fields were discovered in Israeli territorial waters. Israel exports natural gas to both Jordan and Egypt.

In response to the announcement by Halliburton, Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati stated on Saturday that "there is no complacency in this matter, nor is there a waiver of Lebanese rights, and the United Nations must play its role in deterring Israel and forcing it to stop its repeated violations of Lebanese rights and Lebanon's sovereignty," according to Lebanon's National News Agency (NNA).

Lebanese House Speaker Nabih Berri called on Lebanon's Ministry of Foreign Affairs to take "urgent and immediate action in the direction of the UN Security Council (UNSC) and the international community to verify the possibility of a new Israeli attack on Lebanese sovereignty and rights."

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