The future of oil and natural gas (ONG) off the shores of Lebanon has been a point of contention for several decades. Given recent developments, this topic has become more urgent. With the establishment of the Lebanese Petroleum Administration (LPA) in 2012 and the projected start of exploration in 2019, Lebanon hopes to soon become a petroleum-exporting nation.
Notre Dame University-Louaize (NDU) has taken on this challenge using a synergetic approach. On April 23, 2018, the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering (DCEE) and the Department of Government and International Relations (GIR) at NDU jointly organized an ONG event, addressing technical, operational, environmental, and public policy issues. Speakers from NDU and from industry held an open forum with business, law, engineering, architecture, and political science students to raise awareness, brainstorm, and provide a critical look at ONG prospects in the East Mediterranean.
This multidisciplinary event provided a live example of how various disciplines and areas of expertise need to be brought together to address such paramount societal concerns. The opening presentation highlighted the strategic convergence between engineering and public policy. “Are we ready for such a high return, high-risk industry in the Mediterranean with the public management challenges that we face? Shouldn’t we rather also develop environmentally and socially sustainable energy sources?” asked Michel Chalhoub, Associate Professor, DCEE. He noted that a distortion and potential deterioration in the productive sectors — nicknamed ‘Dutch Disease’ — is one of the perils of indulging in an extractive industry without proper long-term economic planning and resource allocation.
The audience was then engaged in a detailed operational and economic discussion about the full lifecycle of ONG, including existing competition around the Mediterranean Basin, learning from the experience of other countries that are already well-versed in the subject. “If the proceeds are used to pay public debt, we would be orienting this opportunity in the wrong direction,” said Fouad Haddad, CEO of S.O.A.L., a company with expertise in liquefying the gas. Haddad provided several examples from the region and emphasized the importance of building up human resource expertise as well as the potentially positive impact on the Lebanese job sector. Despite the obvious advantages of ONG development, he shared major concerns about the potential environmental impact.
“No matter how the economic prospects look, without transparency and accuracy in reporting back regularly to the public, the project is doomed,” warned Eugene Sensenig, Associate Professor, GIR. Sensenig presented an engaging historical overview of the extractive industries sector and highlighted how key issues such as ecology, international terms of trade, and gender roles developed over time. He called for the establishment of a student society at NDU, to collaborate with the LPA on transparency in public sector dealings, partnering with the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI) and Publish What You Pay (PWYP), both organizations that have a proven track record in effectively navigating the local Lebanese environment. “If civil society doesn’t act soon,” according to Sensenig, “the ONG blessing could easily become a resource curse.”
The event was attended by faculty and students from most Faculties on campus, who engaged in idea generation and discussions concerning the challenges awaiting the country. It was supported by various societies and initiatives at NDU including ASME, ASCE, IEEE, the International Association for Hydro-Environment Engineering and Research (IAHR), and the American Political Science Association (APSA).