With scant interest, its economy on the brink and an escalating conflict on its southern border with Israel, Lebanon has pushed back the deadline of ongoing bidding from 2 July to 17 March next year.

Of Lebanon’s ten delineated blocks only one is licensed, Block 9, to a consortium grouping French major TotalEnergies, Italy’s Eni and Qatari state giant QatarEnergy (see map). The consortium here drilled a dry hole last year at the highly anticipated Qana prospect following a historic US-brokered Lebanon-Israel maritime border deal (MEES, 20 October 2023). (CONTINUED - 160 WORDS)