Lebanese companies in the race: Securing vital services for Block No. 9 drilling

By the end of June, TotalEnergies and Transocean are supposed to sign contracts with companies to provide 12 services related to the practical, technical, administrative, and logistical aspects of the drilling process in Block No. 9. 

In this context, Lebanese companies compete to provide four out of 12 services, while foreign companies compete for the remaining eight services. 

The four services that Lebanese companies are competing for are: 

1- Securing three ships specialized in transporting equipment and supplies from the port of Beirut to the rig site; 

2- Managing the logistics base in the port of Beirut; 

3- Securing two helicopters to transport workers from the Rafik Hariri International Airport to the drilling site; 

4- Securing ships to transport the diesel of the drilling rig, known as marine gasoil. 

As for foreign companies, they compete in general for services related to the drilling process, such as the service of sending a robot to the well to ensure the safety of the process, the service of taking measurements in the well, and the service of pouring concrete into the well to solidify it. 

Contracting with Lebanese and foreign companies is supposed to be accompanied by the Ministry of Environment’s approval of the environmental impact report for the drilling process, which was prepared by Total, and the drilling process cannot begin before Total obtains the drilling license. 

It is expected that Total will submit before the end of this month all the documents required in this context, provided that the Lebanese Petroleum Administration will study the file and make any observations, if any, provided that the approval of the license comes later from the Ministry of Energy based on a recommendation from the Administration.