Oil Law: Missing the tide

    Oil has been interchangeably called “black gold” and the “devil’s excrement,” having both enriched the coffers of nations and pit them at war; it creates the capital for investment yet often destroys the development of other sectors in an economy.  It is perhaps fitting then, that Lebanese politicians have recently found renewed impetus to squabble with each other over how to pry open the lid of this cursed treasure under the sea floor off our shores.   Lebanon’s slick history The idea is not novel to those who have been following it. Oil and gas prospectors have long suspected the presence of hydrocarbons in the country, and there was a time when Lebanon had a proficient energy production industry. Before the outbreak of the 1975-1990civil war, Lebanon used to refine oil in both Tripoli and Zahrani, suppliedeither by ship or overland via the old Trans-Arabian pipeline, which still runs from