Lebanon: Total launches several tenders as preparation for the first offshore exploration well

French company Total has launched a series of tenders for the oil and gas infrastructure Lebanon requires to undertake its first round of exploratory drilling, planned for later this year.

“Total launched several long-lead tenders already, and more are coming very soon,” Abboud Zahr, Managing Director at DEP Oil and Gas, which provides services to the companies involved in the planned exploratory drilling, told LOGI.

More detailed information on the tenders was not publicly available. Zahr said the information was confidential.

Total was working at break-neck pace to get the projects, which include vital onshore infrastructure, implemented as soon as possible, Zahr said.

Asked in mid-June about potential delays in oil and gas exploration, Energy Minister Nada Boustani replied: “We have approved the following dates: in December 2019, we will drill the first well in Block 4, and in May 2020 we will drill the first well in Block 9.” (https://www.mees.com/2019/6/14/power-water/lebanons-new-energy-minister-talks-to-mees/44cba470-8ea4-11e9-8a53-4706c33b6e44)

Blocks 4 and 9 were awarded to a consortium comprising Total, ENI and Novatek in 2018.

It remains unclear, however, if the December deadline set by the Energy Ministry will be met. Boustani could not be reached for comment before this newsletter was published.

In the event that the well is drilled in late 2019 or early 2020, and Lebanon does make its first hydrocarbon find, LOGI has prepared a best-case scenario timeline for the sector based on expert opinions:

TIMELINE:

2020: Exploratory well drilled, hydrocarbons are found.

2021: Appraisal well drilled to determine the volume & quality of the find.

2021-2022: Consortium takes final investment decision, based on commercial feasibility.

2022-2026: Consortium seeks Cabinet approval for their plan to develop the hydrocarbon field, designs extraction platform, flow lines and other infrastructure

2026-2029: Construction of infrastructure

2029: Extraction begins

Source: LOGI News Letter (www.logi-lebanon.org)