Offshore drilling rig arrives in Lebanese waters ahead of work near the border with Israel

By BASSEM MROUE
Associated Press

BEIRUT (AP) — Lebanese Cabinet ministers say an offshore drilling rig has arrived at its destination in the Mediterranean Sea off Lebanon’s coast and will start its search for gas in the coming weeks. The rig, which arrived Wednesday, is expected to start drilling this month in Lebanese waters near the border with Israel after the two countries reached a deal last year on their maritime border. Lebanon and Israel have been formally at war since Israel’s creation in 1948. Cash-strapped Lebanon hopes that future gas discoveries will help the small Mideast nation pull itself out of the worst economic and financial crisis in the country’s modern history.