Lebanon to receive 30,000 tonnes of fuel from Egypt in bid to end blackout

Energy Minister Walid Fayad says the fuel can be used immediately at Lebanon's struggling power plants

State provider Electricite du Liban has procured 30,000 tonnes of fuel oil from Egypt. EPA

Up to 30,000 tonnes of fuel is expected to arrive in Lebanon from Egypt on Monday, as the country seeks to end a nationwide electricity blackout that began more than a week ago.

The fuel can be used immediately, Lebanon's Energy Minister Walid Fayad told The National. It was procured by state provider Electricite du Liban (EDL).

Power cuts are said to have affected crucial infrastructure including ports, the airport, prisons, sewage systems and water pumps. They began after EDL announced the operators of Lebanon's Zahrani power plant had run out of fuel.

After the blackout began, Algeria said it would deliver 30,000 tonnes of fuel as a gesture of solidarity, which Mr Fayad said would arrive on Tuesday. It left Algeria last week on an oil tanker.

But it could take up to a month to reap the benefits of the delivery if Lebanon's public procurement laws are followed to the letter. An exception in concert with the necessary authorities could speed up the process.

State electricity in Lebanon typically provides people with a maximum of only four hours a day, forcing many to resort to expensive gas-guzzling private generators or, to a lesser extent, solar panels.

The blackout was initially blamed on a delay in fuel shipments from Iraq, under a separate deal which supplies Lebanon's power plants.

Under the terms of this agreement, Lebanon pays the Iraqi government for the fuel in local currency, which Baghdad can spend on “goods and services” in Lebanon, such as medical services.

Because the heavy fuel supplied by Iraq does not meet Lebanon’s specifications, the contract, signed in 2021 and renewed twice, allows Beirut to swap it on the international market for other types suitable for its power plants, either low sulphur or gas oil.

A senior Iraqi government official said last week the delay was because Lebanon had not paid for fuel oil provided under a previous contract.

Lebanon, which has been suffering from a severe economic crisis since 2019, has been unable to pay Iraq for the fuel deliveries under the weight of mounting debt to Baghdad worth about $1.6 billion over three years, according to calculations based on official figures.

However, deliveries from Iraq are now also being resumed under a temporary resolution. Up to 100,000 tonnes of high-sulphur fuel oil are being loaded in Iraq currently as part of the swap deal, Mr Fayad said.

This will then be followed by the delivery to Lebanon of 60,000 tonnes of gas oil next month. Half will arrive on September 9, the other half on September 15.

For about three decades, the electricity sector in Lebanon has been crumbling amid a lack of investment. It has been kept afloat by costly and short-term fixes that have failed to provide round-the-clock electricity, despite repeated promises by politicians.