Challenges and opportunities: Total's journey towards obtaining a drilling license in bloc 9

The options for Total have been limited to two out of five companies to bring the drilling platform to Bloc 9 starting next September, as planned. 

Based on the clarifications that Total will receive from these two companies, the decision will be made in the coming days regarding the company that will be adopted.

The drilling license that Total is supposed to obtain is linked to many standards and assessments related to the Petroleum Administration Authority and the ministries of energy, environment, and public works. 

However, these authorities are still being prepared, and many specialists who used their skills and expertise in the drilling process in Bloc 4 have left Lebanon due to the current crisis. 
Officials in the drilling process said they would not let this problem hinder their work.

As part of Total's efforts to obtain the drilling license, it is supposed to send reports on the environmental assessment that the Janus vessel conducted in Bloc 9 gradually in the coming months to the Ministry of Energy to study and issue an environmental impact assessment afterward.

The drilling process requires one hundred days, meaning that Lebanon will know by the beginning of 2024 what has been discovered in Bloc 9 regarding gas quantities and whether the discovery is encouraging enough to meet the country's needs and enable exports.