Between vision and mirage

An air of frustration hung over last month’s oil and gas conference at the École Supérieure des Affaires. “It is clear that there is no plan,” vented an industry leader who wished not to be named, referring to the government’s lack of a publicly articulated roadmap for the sector. Political hurdles have slowed progress on the development of the sector, despite work by its regulator, the Lebanese Petroleum Administration (LPA), in drafting various recommendations and holding a prequalification round for international companies keen to drill in Lebanese waters. At this point delays in moving forward with offshore exploration are causing confusion and anger. Planning problems [pullquote]“due to the several political skirmishes and circumstances, we do not have an energy master plan yet”[/pullquote] Lebanon has been working on oil and gas exploration since the early 1990s, but “due to the several political skirmishes and circumstances, we do not have an energy