Overview
- Presidents Joseph Aoun and Nikos Christodoulides signed the agreement at the Baabda presidential palace in Lebanon.
- The accord follows Lebanon’s 2022 U.S.-mediated maritime deal with Israel and cabinet ratification last month.
- The pact removes key legal barriers to joint offshore work and energy cooperation, with seismic surveys and licensing rounds still required.
- Lebanon has yet to register any commercially viable offshore discoveries despite hopes that new exploration could aid its battered economy.
- Syria remains the only neighbor without a delineated maritime boundary with Lebanon, while Cyprus projects some gas could reach Europe as early as 2027.