The deal to export Egyptian gas to Lebanon via Syria is about to be completed
The US Ambassador to Beirut, Dorothy Shea, stated that there has been progress on the level of measures to enable Lebanon to implement gas contracts with Egypt.
In the same regard, the Minister of Energy and Water in the Lebanese caretaker government, Walid Fayyad, discussed with the US ambassador the recent signing of contracts to export gas to Lebanon through Syria.
The ambassador revealed progress on the level of guarantees with regard to the necessary procedures to ensure that there are no negative repercussions of the Caesar Act on the implementation of the gas import deal, noting that “work is underway to enable Lebanon to implement gas contracts because of its positive results”.
The United States passed the Caesar Act in 2019, which allows it to freeze the assets of anyone who deals with Syria, with the aim of forcing the Syrian authorities to stop what it called “the 11-year civil war” and agree on a political solution.
It is noteworthy that Lebanon, Syria and Egypt signed an agreement to transport 650 million cubic meters of gas annually, from Egypt to Lebanon via Syria.
Under the agreement, the gas will be pumped via a pipeline to the Deir Ammar power station in northern Lebanon, where it could add about 450 megawatts to the grid, the equivalent of about four additional hours of electricity per day.
Lebanese Energy Minister Walid Fayyad said that, according to the agreement, Egyptian gas will be purchased and transported via the Arab Gas Pipeline with Egypt and Syria, up to the power plant in Lebanon.
He added that the US side promised the Lebanese government to secure written guarantees, to exempt the Egyptian side from the US Caesar Act, which imposes sanctions on any party cooperating with Syria.
Lebanon suffers from power outages that sometimes last up to 20 hours a day, and has faced economic and political problems for years that have caused financial crises that have prevented its ability to import major commodities, including the fuel necessary to operate power stations.
In October of last year, Jordan hosted a ministerial meeting of the Arab Gas Pipeline countries (Egypt, Jordan, Syria and Lebanon), during which it was agreed to deliver Egyptian natural gas to Lebanon, and to present an action plan and timetable for its implementation.
Lebanon said that Egyptian gas, along with a separate deal to import electricity from Jordan, could raise the country’s electricity supply from just two hours a day to up to ten hours.
