Internal Conflict in Lebanon Over Control of Oil and Gas Resources

H. Varulkar
MEMRI
12 July '10

Introduction

The recent discovery of a large natural gas field off the Israeli coast, near Haifa, sparked an intense conflict in Lebanon between the camps of Prime Minster Sa'd Al-Hariri and Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri – an ally of Hizbullah – over the control of Lebanon's potential oil and natural gas resources, which could generate enormous profits for the country.

At the same time, accusations began to be heard, especially from Hizbullah and its political allies, that Israel is stealing Lebanon's natural resources and that the gas reservoir it has discovered extends into Lebanon's exclusive economic zone.[1] Senior officials from Hizbullah and the opposition warned that the organization would not hesitate to use every means, including its weapons, to defend Lebanon's natural riches. Figures in the March 14 Forces stated in response that Hizbullah was simply looking for another excuse to hold on to its arms.

It should be mentioned that, following the Israeli gas discovery, Lebanon expedited the process of appealing to the U.N. to officially demarcate its exclusive economic zone and to delineate its maritime borders with neighboring countries, except for Israel.[2] The presidents of Syria and Lebanon decided on June 15, 2010 that the two countries would begin demarking the maritime border between them even before completing the demarcation of the land border, in order to settle the question of their respective rights to offshore oil and gas.[3]

Who Will Lead the Legislation of Lebanon's Natural Resources Bill?

A few days after Israel announced the discovery of an enormous gas reservoir at the Leviathan drilling site off the Haifa coast, Lebanese Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri launched an attack on Israel, accusing it of stealing Lebanon's gas and oil deposits, and of ignoring the fact that the gas reservoir extends into Lebanese waters. Berri stressed that "the discovery of [this] gas reservoir obligates Lebanon to act quickly in defense of its rights," and called on the Lebanese parliament and government to declare a campaign of "economic resistance" in defense of the country's natural resources.[4]

Concurrently with the attack on Israel, Berri launched an attack on Lebanese Prime Minister Sa'd Al-Hariri and his government, whom he accused of delaying the passage of a law to regulate the management and exploitation of Lebanon's natural resources.[5] Moreover, Berri had his political advisor, MP 'Ali Hassan Khalil, prepare a draft law on this issue and submit it to the parliament.[6] This was seen as an attempt to circumvent the authority of the government, which in March 2010 appointed a committee of ministers, headed by Al-Hariri, to draft a natural resources bill.

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