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Period: to
Lebanon's history
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First Lebanese oil and gas exploration focusing on onshore developments
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Several onshore wells drilled across the country
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Civil war breaks out, ending all development
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War ends, with Damascus and Beirut forming “Committee of Cooperation between Lebanon and Syria for Oil Exploration in Lebanon
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Lebanese government switches to focusing on offshore oil and gas reserves, abandoning proposals for further onshore drills
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Government agrees contract with Spectrum Geo to carry out two-dimensional seismic surveys of offshore resources
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Norwegian survey company Petroleum Geo-Services (PGS) wins contract to perform three-dimensional surveys
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Lebanon and Cyprus sign an agreement demarcating the maritime border between the two countries
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US energy giant Noble announces the discovery of the Tamar gas field off Israel's coast
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Lebanese Parliament passes Offshore Petroleum Resources Law (OPRL)
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Lebanon submits proposed maritime border with Israel to the United Nations. Israel disputes the proposal
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Cyprus and Israel reach an agreement on their Exclusive Economic Zones
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Noble confirms the existence of a major gas field — called Leviathan — off the coast of Israel. It is estimated to have at least 16 trillion cubic feet of gas at a likely market value of tens of billions of dollars
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Cyprus confirms discovery of gas in the Aphrodite field off its coastline
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Lebanese Council of Ministers (cabinet) finally ratifies OPRL, meaning it comes into effect
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Government deadline for forming Petroleum Administration — a body to negotiate oil contracts — passes without the appointments being agreed upon
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Lebanon's Petroleum Administration finally formed but questions asked about level of independence
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Israel approves oil excavation in the Golan Heights, an area disputed with Syria
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The names of 52 companies that had applied for Lebanon’s oil and gas announced
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The names of 46 companies who had successfully pre-qualified announced
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Israel and Cyprus agree a memorandum of understanding to establish a Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) plant in Cyprus
As Lebanon and Israel are technically at war, if such a deal were to be ratified it would undermine the chances of Lebanon being able to use Cyprus’s LNG plant -
Israel, Cyprus and Greece sign a deal to cooperate over energy, further increasing Lebanon’s isolation