Lebanese Energy and Water Minister Arthur Nazarian thinks Lebanon can indeed be one of the leaders in geothermal energy. During a conference held by CEDRO project for the completion of the geothermal resource assessment, Nazarian said that Lebanon had numerous reserves of untapped geothermal energy.


"The geothermal resource assessment for Lebanon showed that the geothermal energy available in the country is 1,000 million megawatt hours, which is 70 fold the amount of energy needed in Lebanon per year," he said.

The Long Energy Battle

It’s not just geothermal energy that the country has an abundance of, but oil and gas as well. According to EIA, Lebanon’s government estimates that there are many potential natural gas reserves located offshore with an estimated capacity of 25 tcf. More exploration still needs to be done to get a sound number.

So, why is there so much natural gas, but little exports? Well, it’s not because companies aren’t interested. Lebanon has had numerous political issues, from having no government at all to corrupt government officials that have hindered the production of geothermal energy and crude.

Last year, 30 major companies like ExxonMobile and Rosneft voiced interest in drilling in the region, but a deadlocked parliament failed to pass required legislation. It’s been one political road block after another for oil and gas companies.

There’s Hope Yet

With a new coalition government, focus has been redirected towards developing domestic oil and natural gas resources. Lebanon’s government plans to continue with the April 2014 exploration bid.  As these endeavors take place, it’s one more step closer to making the country an oil and gas/geothermal energy powerhouse.

However, Nazarian warns that the execution of this project is time sensitive.

“The great amount of this kind of energy available in Lebanon and the fast improvement in extraction techniques necessitates a prompt move on our side by starting with the studies required for that purpose," he said.

He believes that Lebanon should aim to supply 0.2 percent of its total energy with geothermal by 2025.
According to the GEA, the demand for geothermal energy around the world is enormous. There are roughly 700 geothermal projects in 76 countries.

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by TK Nickleberry

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