Description
Lebanon currently imports all of the oil it consumes, approximately 101,000 bbl/d of oil. Lebanon is not an oil producing country; although it is located near other Middle East countries that do produce oil, its geology is much different.
Recent results of a seismic survey conducted by Spectrum (a British company) in Lebanese territorial waters – 12 miles (19 kilometers) according to international law — indicated that there are thirty-one sites containing oil reservoirs. The Lebanese government is very optimistic about this potential discovery and is creating laws to permit production sharing agreements (PSAs) with foreign oil companies.
As a result of its geographic location, Lebanon was once considered a refinery center for crude oil that was exported from Iraq and Saudi Arabia by pipelines to two Lebanese coastal refineries, Zahrani in the south, and Tripoli in the north. However, due to years of internal and regional political unrest and war damage, these refineries have not been operational. The Tripoli plant has been closed since 1982 and was the main source of oil supplies for Lebanon.