April 04, 2013

BEIRUT: The American energy exploration firmhttp://mideastenvironment.apps01.yorku.ca/wp-admin/post-new.php ION Geophysical was awarded a contract to conduct a seismic survey of an additional 1,650 kilometers off Lebanon’s coast, Energy and Water Minister Gebran Bassil announced Wednesday.

ION will delve 40 km below Lebanon’s seabed, Bassil said, compared to the last 3-D seismic surveys which was at 12 km beneath the sea. Under the terms of the new contract, ION will do the study at its own expense and Lebanon will earn between 15 to 50 percent of the revenues from data sales.

Bassil said that the latest 3-D survey Lebanon has signed with the international energy exploration firm will help narrow down the geological location of the hydrocarbon deposits in Lebanon’s 22,000 kilometer zone of the Levantine Basin and determine whether the country’s potential petroleum deposits are in the form of oil or gas.

“Israel and other countries that claimed to be friendly have tried to prevent Lebanon from seeking to exploit its oil wealth,” Bassil said. “The strength factor of Israel has shifted thanks to Lebanon’s strength and the role of the resistance. Thanks to the resistance, Israel can no longer prevent Lebanon from extracting its oil resources.”

The Energy Ministry was not available to comment on whether the new area to be surveyed is in the disputed portion of Lebanon’s Exclusive Economic Zone bordering Israel.

The Britain-based company Spectrum has surveyed 3,000 km off the southern coast of Lebanon. The Lebanese government has earned a net of $31 million from the sale of gas data to international firms.

A version of this article appeared in the print edition of The Daily Star on April 04, 2013, on page 5.

Read more: http://www.dailystar.com.lb/Business/Lebanon/2013/Apr-04/212504-us-firm-to-conduct-another-gas-survey-deep-in-lebanons-sea.ashx#ixzz2PWwPPxJO
(The Daily Star :: Lebanon News :: http://www.dailystar.com.lb)