Lebanon Will Start Drilling for Oil Next Week

Hussein Yassine·
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Minister of Agriculture and Culture Abbas Mortada announced that Lebanon will begin drilling for oil next Thursday. The decision to begin was made by the cabinet after the awaited drillship arrived in Lebanese waters.

On Thursday, February 20th, the Lebanese Council of Ministers held a session in which officials discussed several points and ultimately ratified a couple of major resolutions.

In addition to authorizing a law concerning the Kuwaiti housing loan project, the Lebanese government approved the decision to utilize the Bahamian Tungsten Explorer drillship and start drilling for oil in Block 4.

Minister Mortada pointed out that a license from the Ministry of Environment must be acquired before any offshore digging could commence.

However, because attaining such a license requires time – between 30 and 90 days – and considering that Lebanon would have to wait a full year for the ship to return in case it is not utilized soon upon its arrival, the cabinet decided to go through with the approval.

As reported by Elnashra, the Tungsten Explorer will “probably” begin working in Block 4 next Thursday, February 27th.

And meanwhile, the government will be working on securing the required license from the Ministry of Environment as soon as possible.

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Oil slicks on the ocean surface resulting from spills from ships, oil and gas platforms, as well as natural seeds from the ocean bottom are a kind of marine pollutions. They are moved by winds or ocean currents, thus may serve as tracers for ocean currents. What happens when oil spilled in the ocean? Oil spills are harmful to marine birds and mammals as well as fish and shellfish… Oil destroys the insulating ability of fur-bearing mammals such as sea otters, and the water repellency of a bird’s feathers, thus exposing these creatures to the harsh elements. How long does it take for oil to decompose in the ocean? These clumps can exist from months to years in enclosed seas and for years in the open ocean -eventually they degrade. But not all oil lives and dies at the surface. Between 10 and 30% of the oil is absorbed by sediments and suspended materials and deposited of the bottom of the sea. What happens to oil in water? Instead of being attracted to water molecules, Oil molecules are repelled by them. As a result, when you add oil to a cup of water the two don’t mix with each other. That’s because oil is less dense than water, it always float on the top of water, creating a surface layer of oil. – – – – – – – #oilslick #oilocean #pollution #waterpollution #ocean #oceanpolution #planet #planetearth #savetheocean #savetheoceanlife #oilpollution #seapollution #sea #earth #crudeoil #sealife #marinelife #helpsavetheocean #nomorepollution #earthpollution #oceanlife #seabirds #mammals #seals #helpmarinelife

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Because drilling and processing crude oil could pose a serious environmental threat, it is necessary to abide by the concerned ministry’s guidelines to avoid, or at least reduce, the pollution of Lebanon’s territorial waters as well as the atmosphere.

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According to the latest studies conducted by foreign experts on Lebanon’s oil and gas resources, the country owns the equivalent of 900 million barrels of petroleum and 95 trillion cubic feet of natural gas.

This translates to around 600 billion dollars worth of gas and 450 billion dollars of petroleum.

If all goes well and Lebanese officials do handle responsibly the income that these vital resources can generate, then Lebanon will have a golden opportunity to revive its economy and restore, as well as further develop, its financial stability.

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