Lebanese government renews agreement to import oil from Iraq
A tanker carrying fuel oil from Iraq is anchored off the Zahrani power plant near the southern Lebanese city of Sidon on September 18, 2021. Photo: AFP
Baghdad (IraqiNews.com) – The Lebanese government approved a request from the Ministry of Energy and Water to renew an agreement with Iraq to supply 1.5 million tons of oil to the state’s electricity company.
Lebanon now provides fuel for its power plants under a Lebanese-Iraqi agreement first signed in 2021.
Under the agreement, Iraq initially committed to supplying the Lebanese government with specified quantities of fuel oil in exchange for unspecified Lebanese services, but because high-sulfur Iraqi fuel oil was not suitable for Lebanese power plants, it was replaced by shipments from other suppliers.
The agreement was expanded earlier this year to include Iraqi oil, which must again be exchanged for products.
In fact, the Iraqi-Lebanese agreement does not seem to have enabled Lebanon to provide regular and adequate supplies of fuel.
Fuel oil imports were declining before the agreement, but they significantly diminished in the second half of 2021 and have completely stopped since the beginning of 2022.