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Lebanon Oil Exploration Continues Amid Preventive Measures

The drilling ship Tungsten Explorer is seen off the coast of Beirut, Lebanon, Wednesday, Feb. 26, 2020. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla)
The drilling ship Tungsten Explorer is seen off the coast of Beirut, Lebanon, Wednesday, Feb. 26, 2020. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla)
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Lebanon Oil Exploration Continues Amid Preventive Measures

The drilling ship Tungsten Explorer is seen off the coast of Beirut, Lebanon, Wednesday, Feb. 26, 2020. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla)
The drilling ship Tungsten Explorer is seen off the coast of Beirut, Lebanon, Wednesday, Feb. 26, 2020. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla)

Gas and oil exploration off the Lebanese coast has not been obstructed by the coronavirus outbreak, as drilling continued in Block 4 and reached the depth of 3,000 meters, in preparation for reaching 4,200 meters in the coming weeks.

While many believed that the process might be affected by the new lockdown measures, member of the Lebanese Petroleum Administration (LPA) Dr. Nasser Hoteit told Asharq Al-Awsat that the exploration process was taking place “professionally and transparently.”

He stressed that all necessary health standards were respected to protect workers from the coronavirus.

The Tungsten Explorer drilling ship started operation on February 25, and is drilling the first exploration well in the Special Economic Zone in Block 4 off the Lebanese coast, about thirty kilometers from Beirut.

Hoteit, who is following-up the drilling operations with French Total, said there was close cooperation with the two other members of the Consortium, Italian ENI and Russian Novatek.

Eni announced last week that it was reviewing all of its energy projects in the region for the year 2020-2021, due to the outbreak of the coronavirus and the current situation in the oil market. The company said it would announce its revised plan this month.

Regardless of ENI’s position, Hoteit said that Total was drilling the wells.

“The two affiliated companies within the consortium are constantly updated about the developments,” he emphasized, adding that ENI’s upcoming decisions would not hinder the exploration process.

Sources told Asharq Al-Awsat the measures adopted to face the coronavirus outbreak included, among others, “reducing the alternation of shifts onboard the drilling ship,” and imposing a two-week quarantine at a dLebanese hotel to all the staff coming from abroad to work on the ship.

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UN General Assembly Asks Court to Say What Israel Needs to Provide in Gaza

The UN General Assembly often finds itself taking up measures that cannot get through the Security Council due to political concerns. JOHN ANGELILLO / POOL/AFP/File
The UN General Assembly often finds itself taking up measures that cannot get through the Security Council due to political concerns. JOHN ANGELILLO / POOL/AFP/File
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UN General Assembly Asks Court to Say What Israel Needs to Provide in Gaza

The UN General Assembly often finds itself taking up measures that cannot get through the Security Council due to political concerns. JOHN ANGELILLO / POOL/AFP/File
The UN General Assembly often finds itself taking up measures that cannot get through the Security Council due to political concerns. JOHN ANGELILLO / POOL/AFP/File

The UN General Assembly approved a resolution Thursday asking the UN’s highest court to state what Israel’s obligations are in Gaza and the West Bank to provide humanitarian assistance essential for the survival of Palestinian civilians.
The vote on the Norwegian-sponsored resolution seeking an advisory opinion from the International Court of Justice was 137-12, with 22 abstentions. The United States, Israel's closest ally, voted against the resolution.
Resolutions in the 193-member General Assembly are not legally binding, though they do reflect world opinion, The Associated Press said.
It follows the ICJ’s condemnation of Israel’ s rule over lands it captured 57 years ago. In a nonbinding opinion in July, the court said Israel’s presence in the occupied Palestinian territories is unlawful and called on Israel to end its occupation and halt settlement construction immediately.
Thursday's resolution also follows Israeli laws passed in late October, which take effect in 90 days, that effectively ban the UN agency for Palestinian refugees, known as UNRWA, from operating in the Palestinian territories.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has stressed that no other UN agency can take on UNRWA's role, and a UN spokesman reiterated Thursday that under international law, as the occupying power, Israel would be responsible for fulfilling the basic needs of Palestinians if UNRWA is banned.
Norway’s deputy foreign minister, Andreas Kravik, told reporters that the international community has a responsibility to react to tens of thousands of deaths in Gaza and virtually the entire population experiencing acute hunger, and some near famine.
He said many countries, the UN and its agencies, and aid organizations are ready to step up their humanitarian efforts but the problem is “there’s a lack of access.”
Israel’s UN Ambassador Danny Danon told the assembly before the vote that its members were debating “the same recycled nonsense, where all that matters is attacking Israel and challenge its right to protect its citizens.”
“This time the Palestinians are using a new tool in this diplomatic circus: the International Court of Justice,” he said.
The resolution demands that Israel comply with all its legal obligations under international law, including by the UN's top court.
It expresses concern about the Israeli legislation on UNRWA and Israeli measures to impede assistance to the Palestinians.
The resolution seeks the ICJ’s guidance on additional questions about its July ruling, including what Israel's obligations are “to ensure and facilitate the unhindered provision of urgently needed supplies essential to the survival of the Palestinian civilian population.”