Rafik Hariri University and the Lebanese Petroleum Administration signed a cooperation agreement on March 26, 2019 during a ceremony held at 11:00 a.m. at the RHU university campus in Mechref.

The agreement was signed by Professor Makram Suidan, RHU President and Mr. Walid Nasr, Chairman and Head of the Strategic Planning Department at the LPA, in the presence of Mr.  Wissam Zahabi, former LPA Chairman and Head of the Department of Economics and Finance, RHU Vice-Presidents, Dean of the College of Business Administration, and a number of department heads and faculty members.

The agreement serves as an appropriate framework for cooperation between the Administration and the University in the fields of education, training, developing expertise, exchanging information, organizing and sponsoring conferences and related workshops and launching a series of activities aimed at spreading awareness and knowledge about the Lebanese oil and gas sector.

It comes at a time when the LPA is actively preparing to launch the second round of granting exploration licenses, and while RHU College of Business Administration is working to expand and further develop the appropriate scientific and institutional structures for its MBA in oil and gas management program. Being the first of its kind in Lebanon and the Arab World. This graduate level program was launched by the College at the beginning of the current academic year, after three years of planning and preparatory work.

The Lebanese Petroleum Administration was established in 2012 as an independent public institution, that aims to achieve the highest added value of the promising oil and gas sector for Lebanon's economy and society. The Administration plays an important role in the organization and management of the sector.

Rafik Hariri University was established in the late 1990s as a national non-profit university that translates the vision of its founder, Martyr Prime Minister Rafik al-Hariri, to open the doors of higher education for all segments of Lebanese society. The University offers graduate and undergraduate degrees in more than 20 disciplines, in four faculties: Engineering, Business Administration, Science and Information Systems, and Arts.