This month’s oil and gas special report was painful to write. What started as an exciting research project on what promises to be the industry that could break the vicious cycle of corruption and cronyism ended up being a reality check that thrusts the truth in our face again. The oil and gas industry won’t be governed any differently from any other public institution in Lebanon. The level of murkiness that this magazine’s top investigative journalists witnessed while trying to gain access to accurate information confirmed our suspicions that the system in place was designed to accommodate our politicians’ revolting dishonesty. Corruption should not make its way into the oil and gas sector, but sadly, we don’t see how the system in place will promote transparency and accountability for the people’s benefit. Similar to the Gulf leaders who became intoxicated on oil and gas fumes — leaving their peoples underdeveloped,
