The UAE-based Emirates National Oil Company (ENOC) has won a tender to swap Iraqi fuel oil with Grade B fuel oil and gasoil, the Lebanese Energy Ministry announced.
ENOC was picked to swap around 84,000 tonnes of sulfur-rich Iraqi fuel oil with 30,000 tonnes of Grade B fuel oil and 33,000 tonnes of gasoil, the ministry said in a statement.
The Lebanese Petroleum Administration had called for a meeting with the representatives of three companies that were participating in the tender, and ENOC was eventually selected, according to the statement.
The tender is part of a deal recently signed between Iraq and Lebanon to allow the latter to import 1 million tonnes of Iraqi fuel oil in exchange for a year in goods and services.
In order to use the fuel, however, Lebanon needs to swap it because of its unsuitability for power generation in Lebanon.
The winning company will deliver the swapped fuel to Lebanon about two weeks after receiving the Iraqi fuel, the Energy Ministry explained.
The Iraqi fuel oil is expected to arrive between 3 and 5 September.
According to remarks made by caretaker Energy Minister Raymond Ghajar back in July, the fuel that Lebanon is importing from Iraq should be enough for around four months of electricity.
