There is turmoil in Lebanon after the government approved on Thursday an agreement to demarcate maritime borders with Cyprus.
Critics claim that this is a draft agreement from 2007 that deprives Lebanon of between 2,600 and 5,000 sq km, and "duplicates mistakes" already made in 2022 when the agreement between Lebanon and Israel was signed.
The government approved the agreement under pressure from the French-Qatari-Italian consortium (which was also involved in the agreement with Israel) that claimed it would not explore natural gas in Lebanese waters without an agreement with Cyprus.
The consortium intends to drill in Block 8, which has natural gas potential but no definite proof. According to the proposal before Beirut, the consortium will first conduct a 3D survey of at least 1,200 sq km over a period of up to 3 years. Only in the second phase, which will last another two years, is it obligated to drill.