Lebanon relaunched its first oil and gas licensing round after a three-year delay, the energy minister said on Jan. 26, kick-starting the development of a hydrocarbon industry stalled by national political issues.

Lebanon has opened five offshore blocks--blocks 1,4,8,9 and 10--for bidding in a first licensing round, Minister of Energy and Water Cesar Abou Khalil told a news conference.

In 2013, 46 companies qualified to take part in bidding for oil and gas tenders, 12 of them as operators, including Chevron Corp. (NYSE: CVX) , Total and ExxonMobil Corp. (NYSE: XOM).

But political issues, which left Lebanon without a president for more than two years, meant the licensing process was put on hold.

Abou Khalil said a second pre-qualification round for companies interested in E&P contracts would be launched soon.

Lebanon, along with Cyprus, Israel and Egypt, sits on the eastern Mediterranean gas field discovered in 2009.