Lebanon will purchase 60,000 tonnes of diesel fuel to satisfy the demands of the local market, Minister of Energy and Water Raymond Ghajar announced on Tuesday.
In a press conference, Ghajar announced an invitation to bid for the purchase of diesel fuel by means of spot freight, which relies on logistics service providers for fast and reliable delivery.
Ghajar said the fuel will be used to supply the oil installations in Tripoli and Zahrani. He explained that the spot freight method will help remedy the ongoing shortage of diesel fuel quickly, especially for Lebanon’s oil installations.
Additionally, it will allow Lebanon to enter a “broader market of global companies that have a surplus in inventory and need new markets to dispose of the surplus,” and present it with better prices due to the competitive nature of that market.
At the same time, spot freight will secure the needs of the local market on-demand.
With the announcement, Minister Ghajar invited interested companies to participate and submit quotations based on the required quality and conditions, published on the oil installations’ websites.
Additionally, he revealed that a 35-million-liter diesel fuel shipment reached on Monday the Zahrani installation in Lebanon to fill it with 17 million liters before unloading the rest at the Tripoli installation.
Moreover, a second ship will follow with the same amount. The Energy and Water Ministry has already received “a promise from companies to meet the needs of the market, meaning the quantities will be available for the local market.”
This comes at a time when the severe shortage of diesel fuel threatens much of Lebanon’s infrastructure, including power and telecommunications services. These are expected to halt soon if the combustible is not made available.
The said shortage came about due to the ongoing dollar crisis and has been exacerbated by the systematic smuggling of the fuel to Syria.
