Lebanon Signs Exploration Award Agreement for Block 8 to Attract Major International Energy Companies

The country regularly launches tender cycles for the exploration of these offshore areas.

As part of one of these cycles, launched in 2017, the Republic of Lebanon signed exploration and production contracts with a consortium led by TotalEnergies (then Total, 35%), with Eni (Italy, 35%) and, at the time, Novatek (Russia, 30%), for Blocks 4 and 9 of the Lebanese EEZ.

The contracts stipulated exploration operations, seismic surveys, and at least one well per block to assess the presence of hydrocarbons. In return, the contract granted the state 55% of the profits from any potential oil or gas deposit.

Block 4, the first block to be explored, did not yield favorable data.

The “Byblos-1” well, drilled in April 2020 to a depth of approximately 4,000 meters, 30 kilometers off the coast of Beirut, revealed only traces of gas, insufficient for a productive field. Consequently, the consortium relinquished the license for Block 4, which Lebanon plans to reopen in a future tender.

Exploratory drilling on Block 9, meanwhile, was hampered by the geopolitical context.

It is indeed one of the three zones along the maritime border with Israel, along with blocks 8 and 10. However, following the definition and delimitation of this border after US mediation, by the agreement of October 27, 2022, between Lebanon and Israel, the consortium was able to launch exploration of block 9 in August 2023, aboard the Transocean Barents platform, and drilled the “Qana” well. The results also failed to reveal any commercially viable hydrocarbon discoveries.

Despite these setbacks, the consortium led by TotalEnergies, in which Novatek was replaced by QatarEnergy in 2023, chose to continue hydrocarbon exploration.

For blocks 8 and 10, the consortium submitted two bids in October 2023, which were unsuccessful due to conditions set by the government that were deemed rigid and insufficiently competitive, especially given the ongoing conflict affecting the area. In 2025, the consortium resubmitted its bid, this time for block 8 only, obtaining more favorable terms during negotiations.

The exploration and development agreement was finally ratified by the Council of Ministers on October 23, 2025, and officially signed on January 9, 2026.

The agreement spans five years, with the consortium required to conduct, firstly, three-dimensional seismic and geological surveys during the first three years, and secondly, exploratory drilling within the following two years. Block 8, covering 1,200 km², is the only block without geological data, the first step in gas exploration, a prerequisite to drilling a well, which remains the only method for confirming the presence of a viable deposit.

If the results prove positive, the transition from exploration to production is not automatic.

According to Lebanese law, the consortium will then have to submit a development plan to the Lebanese state and, through a tender process, contract a third-party company for the development and/or technical or financial management of production, a partner of the consortium. The agreement also stipulates that the Lebanese state will receive between 30% and 40% of the hydrocarbon revenues.

Source: French Embassy in Lebanon