Lebanon on Thursday approved a first bid from an international consortium including France's Total, Italy's ENI and Russia's Novatek to explore for oil and gas off the country's Mediterranean coast.

The group was the only one to respond to a call for bids by the authorities in Beirut, with Lebanon's attempts to begin offshore energy exploration in recent years hampered by political instability.

The government of Prime Minister Saad Hariri has made finding progress on the oil and gas prospects a priority since its formation in 2016 as Lebanon looks to tap potential reserves after major offshore gas discoveries by neighbouring Israel and Cyprus.

"The cabinet has approved the granting of exploration permits... in blocks 4 and 9," Energy Minister Cesar Abi Khalil wrote on Facebook.

The succesful bid from the consortium covers only two of five blocks that were offered by the Lebanese government.