As the fuel crisis reaches rock bottom in the country, some of the MINA region countries are looking to provide Lebanon with the necessities to ensure the availability of fuel.
The first shipment of Iraqi fuel, which is equivalent to 31,000 tons of oil, arrived in Lebanon on Wednesday. A test was conducted to see if the fuel meets the required specifications and the results came out positive.
On Thursday, the fuel was unloaded, with the second shipment of fuel-grade B arriving next week as previously planned.
In accordance with the agreement and the contract signed by former Minister Raymond Ghajar with the Iraqi Finance Minister and with General Abbas Ibrahim, a tender will be conducted every month to replace the Iraqi fuel with fuel needed for Lebanon’s electricity plants.
The second tender will be held in the first week of October.
The authorities highlight that the Iraqi fuel swap will contribute to increasing the electricity hours in Lebanon to about four or five hours per day.
The former Energy Minister Raymond Ghajar announced back in August that the first tender regarding fuel swap to replace approximately 84,000 tons of fuel from Iraq to Lebanon was won by Emirates National Oil Company (Enoc).
Last month, an agreement was signed stating that 1 million tons of fuel will be swapped with alternative fuel and gas supplies to keep Lebanon’s power plants going.
The agreement was conducted between Lebanon and Iraq in Baghdad.
