Tick tock

Some view it as a race against Israel Our neighbor—which is definitively not stealing Lebanon’s gas—closes its first offshore licensing round on November 15. Israel had previously awarded exploration licenses directly.Lebanon just postponed the close of its own first round—yet again—from September 15 to October 12. The new deadline, however, actually seems to have been chosen this time based not on the usual insistence of local officials, but on comments from Dharmendra Pradhan, India’s oil minister. The curious case of ONGC In July, after a meeting with Lebanon’s Minister of Energy and Water Cesar Abi Khalil, Pradhan tweeted: “The meeting was important in the context of @ongcvideshltd participation in the upcoming bid round for offshore gas fields in Lebanon.” ONGC Videsh Ltd is India’s national oil company, which had prequalified as an operator in Lebanon’s first offshore licensing round in April. In September, however, Pradhan told Reuters, “We will definitely