January 27, 2026
In a country that has become accustomed to overlooking mistakes, which has led to a series of unfortunate events, a new file has emerged that raises great concern. This concern is not only due to the technical sensitivity of the issue, but also to what appears to be a clear violation of the law in a densely populated residential area, and a complete disregard for administrative procedures and public safety standards.
In this context, it was learned that Representative Paula Yacoubian intends to submit an official request to the government, based on Article 124 of the bylaws of the House of Representatives, against the backdrop of information indicating the existence of illegal storage and expansion operations for liquid gas and other oil derivatives in the Bourj Hammoud area, carried out by “The Coral Oil Company Limited SAL,” which is considered a serious legal violation, according to available data.
Information indicates that this project is being implemented within a densely populated urban area, with a storage capacity of about 12,000 cubic meters of gas, in addition to large quantities of petroleum materials, without meeting the necessary legal conditions. These violations include the lack of an environmental impact assessment study, failure to obtain approval from the Ministries of Environment and Industry, in addition to failure to obtain a Class A1 storage license, which is legally prohibited from being granted in the Bourj Hammoud area according to the urban classification and applicable laws.
The information indicates that Yacoubian believes that what is happening cannot be justified by any administrative description or considered a “technical expansion.” Rather, it is a completely new project, not subject to licensing in the first place, and in direct conflict with Decree 9949/2013, which explicitly stipulates the removal of oil and gas facilities from Bourj Hammoud due to their danger to the population, and not strengthening or expanding them.
Yacoubian warns, according to the information, that the continuation of these actions represents a clear violation of the law and puts public safety at risk, noting that any potential incident in facilities of this type, and in a location like this, could have serious consequences for thousands of civilians.
According to, the representative will demand that the government, especially the Presidency of the Council of Ministers and the Ministries of Energy, Water, Industry and Environment, clarify the legal basis on which these actions are carried out, and the measures taken or will be taken to stop these violations. She confirmed that she would resort to turning the question into an interrogation if it was not answered within the legal time limit, in an attempt to put an end to the approach of bypassing the laws under the name of a fait accompli.
