BEIRUT, May 12 (Xinhua) -- Lebanon's Energy and Water Minister Raymond Ghajar said Tuesday that Lebanon will start oil and gas exploration in Block 9 of its territorial waters by the end of this year.

Ghajar was quoted by government sources as saying that previous seismic studies by Lebanon proved the existence of gas, which encouraged French company Total to come and work in this field in Lebanon, reported Elnashra, a local independent newspaper.

Ghajar's remarks came following comments by some officials, including the head of Al Marada Movement, Sleiman Franjieh, who said that Lebanon is a non-oil country, contrary to the information provided by the presidency and the Energy and Water Ministry.

Ghajar assured that the well that was already excavated in Block 4 showed small quantities of gas.

Also, the Energy and Water Ministry said in a statement on Tuesday that the process of oil and gas exploration is a very long one and success requires the excavation of several wells.

Ghajar has previously announced that drilling results in the Block 4, the first block to be explored in Lebanon's territorial waters, showed that the basic elements of a geo-petroleum system were confirmed in the Lebanese sea, while the existence of a gas reservoir was not verified. Enditem

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