February 15, 2003	Saturday	Zul Hijjah 13, 1423

BEIRUT, Feb 14: Lebanon may have natural gas or oil, according to a 2002 seismic survey carried out on its offshore territorial waters by the British experts, Spectrum.

The survey suggests that Lebanon geological features show a potential for hydrocarbons, but only drilling can determine the actual presence of gas or oil.

Spectrum, which began surveying 2000 square kilometres of the country’s territorial waters in September, was contracted by the Energy and Water Ministry after obtaining the Cabinet’s approval.

The data indicates that the hydrocarbon potential is found more to the north of the country rather than the south.

Spectrum had previously conducted a seismic survey of international waters with the Eastern Mediterranean Sea in the summer of 2000, so it designed the recent study in an East-West direction to merge the two inspections.

“Therefore, in addition to being able to evaluate the potential for hydrocarbons with Lebanon’s 12-mile (19 km) territorial waters, an evaluation can also be made of the potential outside those territorial waters, within Lebanon’s Exclusive Economic Zone,” said a summary report prepared by George Kamar, senior adviser to Energy and Water Minister Mohammed Abdel-Hamid Beydoun.

“If companies drill and do find oil or gas, it would change Lebanon’s whole image,” Kamar said.

But Kamar insisted that important step were needed before proceeding with exploration, including most importantly the passing of a new law to regulate the relationship between the state and any investing petroleum companies.

“The law should be clear, it should not be liable to amendments, otherwise no investors would come,” Kamar added.

In a news conference at his ministry, Beydoun and expert Mike Johnson from the British firm Spectrum, which carried out the seismic survey, said, “the results are more than positive .... There are strong geological indicators suggesting the possible presence of oil or natural gas.”

Johnson who explained that the survey covered all of Lebanon’s economic zone, said “the results are better than what we thought.”

But he said the data didn’t suggest in any way that “Lebanon will be another Kuwait or Saudi Arabia,” adding that a survey only provides hard geological evidence from which “we can infer optimism.”

“Although Lebanon has all the geological conditions which normally lead to drilling, it still falls in a high-risk area, because the nearest wells are very far away,” Johnson said.

Several geological conditions, which could suggest the presence of oil or natural gas, such as what are called structural and stratiographic taps, source and reservoir rocks, oil seals and oil migration fairways” are present here, according to Spectrum’s findings.

“And we know from satellite images that oil exists here,” Johnson said.

These findings should entice oil companies to come and invest in the country provided there are attractive bids, Johnson said adding that his company will assist in the preparation for bidding.

“There’s a considerable number of companies out there that would be interested. Some have already begun negotiating with the government,” he said.

“We now have to check the commercial potential,” he said in reference to the start of the process of preliminary drilling.

The survey revealed that Lebanon has several potential drilling targets scattered around its territorial waters and economic zone. They are not confined to one region, but very good results were found 20 kilometres south-west of Beirut and in approximately 8-square kilometres are near the coast of Batron where as Johnson explained to Beydoun, hydrocarbon potential was detected in a rather shallow zone, suggesting that it could be a commercial target.

The survey, which cost more than a $1 million was financed by Spectrum.