The Ministry of Energy and Water (MoEW) signed a contract with U.S. firm ION Geophysics to conduct an analysis of the latest 3D seismic surveys done on a 1,650-kilometer area off Lebanon’s northern coast.

The MoEW said this survey analysis will help determine the nature of petroleum deposits in the surveyed area. The firm will conduct the analysis at its own expense. The government will benefit from a share of data sale revenues ranging between 15 to 50 percent. Some $31 million were earned from previous data sold to prequalified companies.