Lebanon has shortlisted 46 international oil firms, including U.S. giant ExxonMobil Corp. (XOM), Chevron Corp. (CVX) and France 's Total SA (TOT), for its first oil and natural gas licensing round in its Mediterranean coastal waters, the Petroleum Administration said.

ExxonMobil, Chevron, Total are also among 12 firms that have been pre-qualified as operators. Others are Norway 's Statoil ASA (STO), Royal Dutch Shell PLC (RDSA) and Italy 's Eni SpA (E), the administration said on its website.

It added that 34 firms were shortlisted for non-operator status including Korea National Oil Corp., or KNOC , Russia 's OAO Rosneft (ROSN.RS) and Japan 's Inpex Corp. (1605.TO).

Lebanon, which passed an oil law in 2010 and formed a petroleum board last year, is opening prospects for exploration because it hopes sizeable discoveries could bring in funds to help cut its high level of government debt and to meet its domestic power demands. Geophysical data covering the exploration area in the eastern Mediterranean already indicate that the region contains several trillion cubic feet of natural gas.

Last month, the country's energy minister, Gibran Bassil, said in an interview with Dow Jones Newswires that the country plans to award the contracts in February next year.

Pre-qualified explorers, which will be allowed to do exploration work in waters close to Israel and Cyprus , can place their bids by May 2.

Once qualified, companies will have to form consortia comprising at least three members to participate in the licensing round.

Lebanon , a tiny Mediterranean country, faces economic and fiscal challenges that are contributing to its mounting public debt.

Insecurity related to threats from across the borders of its neighbors Syria and Israel and internal political and security instability that could jeopardize foreign investments and tourism have all contributed to the country's fiscal hardships.

By the end of July last year, Lebanon's gross public debt stood at $55.4 billion or 136.4% of the country's gross domestic product, according to the Association of Banks in Lebanon.

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