Lebanon: no more blood for petrol

You’re not going to hear this in any place, but reality is that a huge sea of petrol hides under the Lebanese beaches. And Syria wants its share of it h/t Le Guerre Civile:

Per una volta non c’entrano le questioni militari, né quelle strategiche, e nemmeno i conflitti etnico-religiosi, bensì una risorsa molto ricerata in tutto il mondo e di cui si supponeva che quest’area del Vicino Oriente fosse priva: il petrolio e, con esso, il gas.
La notizia verrà annunciata in queste ore a Londra durante il convegno dell’Eage, l’associazione europea dei geofisici: lungo le coste libanesi ci sarebbero almeno otto miliardi di barili di greggio. A scoprirlo è stata una società norvegese, la Pgs, che ha effettuato lo studio dei fondali marini al largo del Paese dei Cedri. E non sarebbe solo il Libano a beneficiare di questa inaspettata opportunità. Lungo la dorsale del vulcano sottomarino Eratostene ci sarebbe un immenso giacimento che riguarderebbe anche le acque territoriali di Siria, Cipro e Israele. A nord di Gaza, lungo le coste dello Stato ebraico, una nave oceonografica americana ha osservato delle fuoriuscite di gas dal fondo del mare e il governo di Gerusalemme, che ha stanziato per le ricerche più di un miliardo di dollari, è persuaso che ci possano essere grandi quantità di metano.

In prima fila, però, c’è il Libano. Otto miliardi di barili non sono sufficienti per trasformarlo in un nuovo Emirato del Mediterraneo. L’Irak, ad esempio, ne ha 115 miliardi ed è al terzo posto per riserve mondiali di petrolio dopo Arabia Saudita e Iran; ma in un’epoca di grande domanda e a prezzi che restano esorbitanti rappresentano una dote preziosa e, inevitabilmente, destinata ad attrarre le attenzioni delle potenze dell’area.

Basically, the article by Italian newspaper Il Giornale says that Lebanon, Syria, Cyprus and Israel have oil under their soil. But of them, the most important oil deposits are in Lebanon. It’s not that they are going to have a huge quantity but its 8 milliards of barrils a day can make it be under the attention of the countries of the area. And it’s curious that it’s been told this now, when there are suspicious moves by Syria regarding Nahr el-Bahred and other refugee camps’ crisis.

Related posts:

1. Lebanon vs. Al-Qaeda-Fatah al Islam.
2. Lebanon vs Al-Qaeda-Fatah al Islam (II).
3. As UN approves the creation of a special tribunal to try suspects, Hezbulah and Syria take positions.

 More about the Lebanese oil:

La Pulce di Voltaire reproduces the interview with Ali Haidar, from the Geology Department of the American University in Beirut [in Italian]:

A: The area extends itself 70% to the north and 30% to the south. When Assad’s father was governing, we have data related to the explorations in Syria. This happened at the same time as a very precise political phase [when Liban was under complete Syrian control, author’s note]. I took part in most of the Oil and Industry Ministry’s commissions of energy. Siria has given an important and free (¡!) collaboration, I must say. The Syrians were not interested in the explorations of the Lebanese off-shore, because they did not have the necessary tecnology. This was good for Hariri’s government who preferred that the exploration made on soil would proceed slowly and on the sea very quicly.

Q: Probably Hariri felt himself surer if he searched oil the farthest from Syrian frontiers:

A: Policy is not my job, but that could be a correct motive. …A commision about the exploitation of Lebanese off-shore was formed, which had as prime subject to implement the agreement between Hariri’s Government and the company in charge of the works [the exploration of the marine soil, which must take into consideration several factors very precisely, and in all dimensions, from 2-D to 4-D, author’s note]. A second commission, I took also part of, perfected the agreement with the society Spectrum [English exploration company, of which also takes part the Norvegian PGS, author’s note]. We have had several problems both technical and legal, but in the end the company made the sysmic study in 2-D of the Lebanese coast.
We had individualised some zones near Beirut (center) and Tripoli (in the north). One of the main point of interest is south Cyprus, near the Eratostene volcano, a marine mountain system of about 100 kms in circle. What Spectrum has taught us is that there seemed to be a huge quantity of oil there. At that point we have continued the sysmic exam of the Lebanese coast. It was 2002. The sysmic exam continued throughout the major part of our territorial waters. We have individualised nearly 31 sites which are potentially productive.