Hezbollah Secretary-General Hassan Naserallah confirmed on Monday that "all indicators are positive" more than a month after drilling began at an exploratory well in Block 9, which is one of the areas adjacent to the newly drawn maritime borders between Lebanon and Israel. Earlier today, the Lebanese Ministry of Energy stated that a coalition of French Total Energies, Italian Eni, and Qatar Energy submitted "applications to participate in the second licensing round to bid on Blocks 8 and 10 in Lebanese maritime waters." The statement added that the applications were submitted "one hour before the deadline for submitting requests for participation in the second licensing round." Naserallah mentioned that "the companies forming the coalition that submitted the applications are holders of petroleum rights in Blocks 4 and 9 in Lebanese maritime waters." During a celebration marking the Prophet's birthday, he continued, "Our information indicates... that all indicators are positive in Block 9, and one of the signs of these positive indicators is that the same companies working in Block 9 applied to take on Block 8 and Block 10. Experts say if these companies believe that Block 9 does not contain anything important, they would not have applied to take responsibility for two other blocks."
This coalition began drilling an exploratory well in Block 9 last August, an area adjoining the newly defined maritime borders between Lebanon and Israel, which were marked after negotiations mediated by the U.S. last year. The deadline for submitting applications related to Blocks 8 and 10 has previously been extended several times over the past years.
He also mentioned that "there is an opportunity for dialogue called for by Speaker of the Parliament Nabih Berri, but this opportunity has been wasted due to political setbacks. We should investigate the status of the French initiative, and the Qatari envoy is making daily efforts, but there is no clarity or news in the near future."
Regarding the Syrian displacement issue, Naserallah stated that "some see it as an existential and security threat to Lebanon, but what are those who agree on this threat doing?" He called for "a unified national strategic plan agreed upon by the Lebanese to present to the world and friends, and pressure the caretaker government, the Lebanese army, security forces, and municipalities, as this could lead us to a result." He noted that "no one in Lebanon knows the actual number of Syrian refugees, so there should be a serious census, and it is essential to distinguish between labor and refugees," emphasizing that "the most critical aspect in addressing the Syrian refugee issue is to tackle the causes rather than the results, and the first responsible party for the security displacement to Lebanon is the one who ignited the war in Syria, namely the American administration."
He suggested that "a comprehensive political committee should be established to address this existential threat," stressing the need to "not let the current atmosphere turn hostile toward the refugees and to not exceed legal and ethical limits with them." He added, "If Hezbollah were in control of the decision in Lebanon, it would send the Prime Minister to negotiate with the Syrian government on the refugee issue, which is evidence of the falsehood of this claim." He further stated, "There is a debatable idea that the Lebanese state should allow any Syrian refugees who wish to head to Europe, which would inevitably lead to European countries coming to Beirut to ask what is needed to stop this refugee migration, as Turkey did."
Lebanon hopes that gas and oil discoveries will help it emerge from the severe economic crisis that has caused the local currency to lose more than 98 percent of its value, depleted foreign reserves, and led to electricity outages in cities.
