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Energy Minister Says Companies to Continue Offshore Oil Exploration in Lebanon

The Tungsten Explorer is to start drilling in its first exploration well some 30 kilometers offshore from Beirut. AFP file photo
The Tungsten Explorer is to start drilling in its first exploration well some 30 kilometers offshore from Beirut. AFP file photo
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Energy Minister Says Companies to Continue Offshore Oil Exploration in Lebanon

The Tungsten Explorer is to start drilling in its first exploration well some 30 kilometers offshore from Beirut. AFP file photo
The Tungsten Explorer is to start drilling in its first exploration well some 30 kilometers offshore from Beirut. AFP file photo

Lebanese caretaker Energy Minister Raymond Ghajar has announced that the international consortium on oil and gas exploration will continue offshore operations under the leadership of France’s Total.

Recent reports indicated that Total has stopped exploration for oil and gas in Lebanon. However, Ghajar explained that the coronavirus pandemic and budget cuts have forced international oil companies to reduce exploration in most countries.

He indicated that it is difficult to maintain offshore explorations in light of the preventive measures taken to help limit the spread of the virus.

Ghajar confirmed that the exploration for gas by the consortium consisting of Total, Italy's Eni, and Russia's Novatec in blocks 4 and 9 has been extended to August 2022 after delays due to COVID-19 and the Aug. 4 Beirut port blast.

The companies presented their schedule and budgets for blocks 4 and 9 for 2021, including studies and data analysis in block 4 where an exploration well was drilled, as per the Exploration and Production Agreement (EPA).

They must also drill block 9 by the end of the first exploration phase.

The statement confirmed that the Energy Ministry and the Lebanese Petroleum Administration (LPA) are following up with the consortium on the implementation of the two projects in both blocks.

The port explosion caused damage to the logistical base designated for offshore gas exploration, noted the statement.

In 2018, Lebanon signed contracts for the first time with international companies, including Total, Eni, and Novatek to explore for oil and gas in blocks 4 and 9.

Block 9, which includes a disputed part with Israel, will not be included in the exploration although Lebanese officials pin high hopes on it to save the country from its worst economic crisis.

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UN: Iran War Could Plunge 32 million into Poverty

People shop at the fruit and vegetable market the day after negotiations between Iran and the US in Pakistan failed to produce a deal, in the capital Tehran on April 13, 2026. (Photo by ATTA KENARE / AFP)
People shop at the fruit and vegetable market the day after negotiations between Iran and the US in Pakistan failed to produce a deal, in the capital Tehran on April 13, 2026. (Photo by ATTA KENARE / AFP)
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UN: Iran War Could Plunge 32 million into Poverty

People shop at the fruit and vegetable market the day after negotiations between Iran and the US in Pakistan failed to produce a deal, in the capital Tehran on April 13, 2026. (Photo by ATTA KENARE / AFP)
People shop at the fruit and vegetable market the day after negotiations between Iran and the US in Pakistan failed to produce a deal, in the capital Tehran on April 13, 2026. (Photo by ATTA KENARE / AFP)

More than 32 million people worldwide could be plunged into poverty by the economic fallout from the Iran war, with developing countries expected to be hit hardest, the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) warned.

In a report issued amid doubts over a fragile ceasefire, the UNDP said the world is facing a “triple shock” involving energy, food and weaker economic growth.

The agency said the conflict is reversing gains in international development, with the impact expected to be felt unevenly across regions.

Alexander De Croo, UNDP administrator and former prime minister of Belgium, said: “A conflict like this is development in reverse. Even if the war stops, and a ceasefire is very welcome, the impact is already there.”

“You will see an enduring impact, especially in poorer countries, where people are being pushed back into poverty. This is the most painful aspect. The people being pushed into poverty are very often the same people who were in poverty, escaped it, and are now being pushed back.”

Energy prices surged sharply during the six weeks of the Iran war after Iran’s closure of the Strait of Hormuz choked global oil and gas supplies. With knock-on effects on fertilizer supplies and global shipping, experts warn of a “time bomb” threatening food security in the developing world.

The head of the International Monetary Fund said the war’s “devastating effects” have caused lasting damage to the global economy, even if the conflict ends.

Publishing its report alongside meetings of world leaders in Washington for the IMF Spring Meetings, the UNDP said a global response is required to support countries hardest hit by the economic fallout.

It said targeted and temporary cash transfers are needed to protect the most vulnerable households in developing countries, at a cost of about $6 billion to mitigate the shocks for those living below the poverty line.

De Croo said international agencies and development banks could provide financial support. “There is a positive economic return from short-term cash transfers to avoid people being pushed back into poverty,” he said. Alternative measures could include temporary subsidies or vouchers for electricity or cooking gas.

Setting out three scenarios for the war, the UNDP found that in the worst case – involving six weeks of major disruption to oil and gas production and eight months of sustained higher costs – up to 32.5 million people globally would fall into poverty.

The report used the upper-middle-income poverty line defined by the World Bank, set at less than $8.30 per person per day.

The UNDP said that while richer countries are in a stronger position to cushion the economic fallout, countries in the global south face weaker conditions and already severe financial constraints.

This comes as western governments, including the US, Germany, France and the UK, cut aid spending amid rising borrowing and debt levels in advanced economies and calls to increase defense spending.

Data from the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development published last week showed that countries in its Development Assistance Committee cut aid spending to $174.3 billion in 2025, nearly a quarter lower than in 2024.

Business

EU Member States Must Coordinate on Energy Prices amid Iran conflict, Von Der Leyen Says

Gas prices are displayed at a Chevron station in Los Angeles, California, on March 31, 2026,(Photo by Frederic J. BROWN / AFP)
Gas prices are displayed at a Chevron station in Los Angeles, California, on March 31, 2026,(Photo by Frederic J. BROWN / AFP)
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EU Member States Must Coordinate on Energy Prices amid Iran conflict, Von Der Leyen Says

Gas prices are displayed at a Chevron station in Los Angeles, California, on March 31, 2026,(Photo by Frederic J. BROWN / AFP)
Gas prices are displayed at a Chevron station in Los Angeles, California, on March 31, 2026,(Photo by Frederic J. BROWN / AFP)

The European Union's member states must coordinate on energy prices amid a 22 billion euro ($25.70 billion) increase in fossil fuel bills since the start of the Iran war, EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said on Monday.

"We're also looking into ... coordination of member states' gas storage filling to avoid that many member states go to the market at the same time," von der Leyen told reporters in Brussels.

"And we will coordinate oil stock releases, to achieve the largest possible effect, and we will ensure that member states' emergency measures will not impact the single market."

The EU Commission is planning to publish proposals for energy price measures on April 22, to be discussed by EU leaders at their informal summit next week, according to Reuters.

Separately the EU's executive arm will present an electrification strategy before the summer, von der Leyen said as she stressed the need for structural measures to lower energy prices as well.

"We are paying a very high price for our global dependency on fossil fuels, and the grim reality for our continent is fossil fuel energy will remain the most expensive option in the years to come," von der Leyen said.

"Our strategy to decarbonize has not only been confirmed in the last years, but is growing in importance day by day," she added.

 

 

 

 

Business

Iraqi Oil Exports Plummet 81.3% in March Due to Hormuz Closure

The Zubair Oil Field in Basra, Iraq, April 6, 2026. REUTERS/Mohammed Aty
The Zubair Oil Field in Basra, Iraq, April 6, 2026. REUTERS/Mohammed Aty
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Iraqi Oil Exports Plummet 81.3% in March Due to Hormuz Closure

The Zubair Oil Field in Basra, Iraq, April 6, 2026. REUTERS/Mohammed Aty
The Zubair Oil Field in Basra, Iraq, April 6, 2026. REUTERS/Mohammed Aty

Iraq’s oil exports plunged in March to 18.6 million barrels, down from 99.87 million in February – a drop of 81.3 percent - due to the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, according to official figures released Monday.

The state-run Organization for Marketing of Oil said revenues also have fallen to just $1.95 billion, down from over $6.81 billion.

The figures showed that exports from the Kurdistan Region through Türkiye’s Ceyhan port also dropped to 1.27 million barrels, down from 5.55 million barrels in February.

Meanwhile, operations resumed on Monday at a major gas facility in Iraq's Kurdish region, the Emirati company running the complex said, after more than a month of disruption due to the US-Iran war.

Dana Gas announced "the resumption of production of the Khor Mor gas facility in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq, following a period of intermittent operations," according to a statement published by the Abu Dhabi stock exchange.

On February 28 the UAE company suspended natural gas supplies from the complex as war broke out, authorities in Iraq's autonomous Kurdistan region had said.

Kurdistan's electricity and natural resources ministries said the decision was made "due to the extraordinary circumstances and ongoing events in the region, and to protect employees at the Khor Mor field."

The Khor Mor complex, which supplies most of Kurdistan's power stations, has been hit several times in recent years in attacks blamed on pro-Iran armed groups in Iraq.