Berri, Mikati Visit Drilling Rig in Block 9: A Day of Joy in Lebanon’s Darkness

By Staff, Agencies

Lebanese caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati and House Speaker Nabih Berri took on Tuesday a helicopter from Beirut’s airport to transport them to the drilling rig in Block 9.

Mikati, Berri, caretaker Energy Minister Walid Fayyad and caretaker Minister of Public Works and Transport Ali Hamiyeh inspected the drilling operations after the Transocean Barents drilling rig arrived in Block 9 offshore Lebanon to search for gas.

Before heading to the rig, Berri said: “In this darkness comes a day of joy, for which I worked for many years, until the framework agreement was reached.”

Block 9 contains the Qana field or Sidon reservoir.

Berri hoped to see good results within months and said that gas exploration could save Lebanon from its deep financial crisis.