BEIRUT, July 23 (Xinhua) -- Lebanese Energy and Water Minister Nada Boustani said Tuesday that Lebanon is negotiating with Cyprus and Egypt on the potential of cooperation in the oil and gas sector, local media reported.
"We aim at reaching agreements with countries in the region in a way that will yield benefits for everyone," Boustani was quoted as saying by Elnashra, an online independent newspaper.
Boustani said that Lebanon is discussing with Cyprus the potential cooperation by extracting oil and gas in common oil fields between the two countries.
She added that Lebanon is also in negotiations with Egypt to explore cooperation opportunities between the two countries mainly by reactivating the Arab Gas Pipeline.
Arab Gas Pipeline (AGP) is a trans-regional gas export pipeline built to carry natural gas from Egypt to Jordan, Syria and Lebanon.
The pipeline stopped operation following at least 26 insurgent attacks since the start of the uprising in early 2011 until October 2014.
Boustani announced earlier this year the launch of Lebanon's second licensing round for offshore oil and gas exploration in five blocks.
In February 2018, Lebanon signed its first offshore oil and gas exploration and production contracts for two energy blocks with a consortium of France's Total, Italy's Eni and Russia's Novatek.
