Lebanon was able to reach an agreement with Israel to end their dispute over the maritime border and set a clear borderline between the two countries’ waters. The existence of offshore gas reserves on the Israeli side of the border, increased speculation about the possible existence of gas fields on the Lebanese side as well. Policy makers went as far as arguing that Lebanon became an oil and gas exporting country, and that the new wealth would lift Lebanon out of the economic and financial crisis. Such news has also sparked demands, like establishing a sovereign fund to manage the revenue from future oil exports.  

LIMS explained that Lebanon did not discover any gas fields yet that can be commercially viable and therefore Lebanon is not an oil or gas exporting nation. If natural gas is found in the future, economic benefits will take a minimum of 5 years to show, but only under perfect stipulations. Chance and time are not the only matter at hand. LIMS believes that the Lebanese government is unable to properly run a cash cow sector like oil and gas. The risk of cronyism and kickbacks would be high in the extraction and payment process. Already, the electricity sector is burdened with these types of shady deals.  

Unfortunately, the portion of the money allocated to the sovereign fund would not be managed properly. In Lebanon’s case, the closest example to a sovereign fund, was the central bank’s foreign exchange reserves. The central bank was supposed to be independent and only invest in low-risk money market securities. Yet, the money was looted, by financing government expenditure in foreign currency at an undervalued exchange rate. LIMS suggested giving ownership of natural resources directly to the population without going through the government.  

LIMS Media Interviews: 

• Information From Lebanese Institute For Market Studies Confirmed Israeli Newspaper (The Times Of Israel) Stated That “The Estimates Regarding Quantities That Can Be Extracted From The Qana Field May Appear To Be Much Lower Than Initially Thought.” October 10, 2022: LIMS, Article AR  
• Lebanon Will Sign “Historic Agreement” With Israel…Towards Solving Crisis Or Towards A “Second Iraq”? October 12, 2022: Raseef 22, Article AR  
• Sovereign Fund To Manage Gas And Oil Files Will Not Be Guaranteed For Lebanese And A Shocking Proposal! October 12, 2022: Jusur, Article AR  
• Is Sovereign Fund Used To Rob Gas Wealth? October 14, 2022: LIMS, Article AR  
• Lebanon Has Lots Of Money In It…Two Regions In Lebanon Will Witness Recovery Due To Oil! October 14, 2022: Lebanon 24, Article AR  
• By Video, Mardini Told Janoubia: Lebanon Is Not An Oil Country And The Smell Of Corruption Is Strong! October 15, 2022: Janoubia, Article AR  
• Do The Lebanese Own Their Gas?: Texas As A Model, October 15, 2022: Al Modon, Article AR  
• Will Oil And Gas Money Evaporate Like That Of Depositors? October 15, 2022: Grand LB, Article AR  
• Sovereign Fund: Preserving The Rights Of Generations Or A Way To Rob Gas Wealth? October 15, 2022: Annahar, Article AR  
• Demarcation Of The Border With Israel…Deferred Economic Benefits For Lebanon (Report) Experts Doubt That Their Country Will Benefit Financially As Long As There Are No Internal Reforms. October 15, 2022: aa.com, Article AR  
• Will Lebanon Achieve Economic Benefits From The Border Demarcation Agreement? October 18, 2022: Arabi21, Article AR  
• Video: Oil Revenues Till After 2030? October 19, 2022: MTV, TV Interview AR  
• Sovereign Fund To Preserve Oil Revenues On The Parliamentary Table: Who Manages The Oil Wealth? October 19, 2022: This Is Lebanon, Article AR  
• Hiwar Beirut – Raed Khoury, Mohamed Fahili, And Patrick Mardini, October 20, 2022: RLL, Radio Interview   
• Mardini: Lebanon Not An Oil Country, But Rather A Country Looking For Oil And Gas. Sovereign Fund May Waste Money Instead Of Using It To Benefit The People, October 22, 2022: Addiyar, Article AR  
• Lebanon As An Oil Country…Expectations High And “Fish Are In The Sea” October 24, 2022: Lebanon 24, Article AR  
• Is Sovereign Fund Best Option After Agreeing On Demarcation Or Is It Government Administration? October 26, 2022: Al Afkar, Article AR  
• After Demarcating Its Borders With Israel, Will Lebanon Become An “Oil State”? October 30, 2022: DW, Article AR