"... The Lebanese were quick to notice that their enemy’s new discoveries extend into Lebanon’s maritime territory, and that Israel had licensed the oil companies to explore (and eventually drill) in Lebanese territory.
Indeed, a US Geological Survey study earlier this year claimed that there are 122 trillion cubic feet of recoverable gas off the coasts of Syria, Lebanon, Israel and the Gaza Strip.....
Lebanese politicians jumped in to make a plethora of provocative statements, fanned by Hezbollah, the armed Shi’ite political movement, which pledged to defend Lebanon’s natural resources.
Israel responded in kind, with the country’s Infrastructure Minister Uzi Landau stating that the army “will not hesitate to use force” ......
Beyond the militaristic oratory and bravado on both sides, there are significant domestic political challenges to Lebanon moving forward with offshore oil and gas exploration, as the country has no law to regulate offshore resources, effectively killing any chance that international oil companies would risk drilling.
“They don’t have a legal system for oil and gas,” Dr. Takin said. “Who does it belongs to? Should it be exploited by government or the private sector? If private, how should it be taxed or regulated?”
Saad Oueini, general manager of the Association of Lebanese Industrialists, said Lebanon’s business community would be unable to access the potential impact of Lebanese gas exploration until the political debate settles down.
“It’s only a project now and we don’t know the feasibility of it,” he told The Media Line. “We can’t analyze its business impact yet because we don’t know if it will work or where it will go.”
Dr. Louis Hobeika, an economics professor at Lebanon’s Notre Dame University, said Lebanese politicians are getting way ahead of themselves.
“In my view, the problem is we are not sure if we even have oil or gas, so what are we fighting about?” he told The Media Line. “Why do you need a law to organize something you don’t even know you have. ...... They are spending their time fighting over nothing,” Dr. Hobeika said. “It’s only an issue because it hides the other more serious problems facing the country – government inefficiency, incompetence and corruption and the lack of adequate services in transportation, water, education, health.”..."
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