Al Jazeera: Billion-Dollar Gas Deals Hang on Lebanon Power Balance

A series of oil exploration deals, which may be worth billions of dollars to Lebanon's economy, are being held up amid the country's presidential vacuum and political chaos as crude prices continue to fall.

A total of 46 transnational energy giants - including Total, Shell, Chevron and ExxonMobil - qualified in April 2013 to enter the first round of licensing to explore Lebanon's offshore resource potential. But the licensing has been put on the government's back-burner, as divisions between the country's two main political blocs over the conflict in Syria undermine the state's executive power.

Arthur Nazarian, Lebanon's energy and water minister, was cornered by a journalist in March, asking when the cabinet would sign off on the two decrees necessary to kick-start natural gas and oil exploration. Nazarian had been vocal throughout the past year in calling for MPs to sign off on the licensing deal, but cut a frustrated figure, admitting he had "no idea" when the issue would reach the forefront of the cabinet's agenda. MORE