Page 9 - DMEA Week 30 2021

DMEA FUEL DMEA

Iraq to provide Lebanon

with fuel oil in barter deal

MIDDLE EAST IRAQ and Lebanon last week agreed a barter “agreed to open an account in Lebanon’s Central
deal that will see Baghdad ship 1mn tonnes Bank in exchange for this fuel. This account is
of fuel oil for use in Lebanese power plants in managed by the Iraqi Finance Ministry through
exchange for medical services. which it will buy services inside Lebanon in Leb-
In a deal that Lebanese Energy Minister Ray- anese pounds.”
mond Ghajar described as “a bit complicated”, At present, Beirut is struggling to finance the
the state-owned Iraq News Agency (INA) sourcing of fuel oil, which has led to power cuts
reported that the fuel oil would be sold to Leb- of up to 22 hours per day.
anon at the “global price”, then noting that the Iraq began trucking consignments of fuel oil
payment would be made “with services and as aid following the blast last year that destroyed
goods”. much of the port of Beirut and the surrounding
Ghajar said that the deal would allow the area. In August shipments containing more than
government to purchase 1mn tonnes of fuel oil 1mn litres were trucked through Syrian territory
on behalf of Electricite du Liban (EDL) over the as Baghdad sought to provide aid “as part of the
course of a year. Lebanon will provide “services assistance provided by the government and the
and assistance to Iraq in the hospitals sector” in Iraqi people to the brotherly Lebanese people”,
exchange, he added. according to Iraqi Oil Minister Ihsan Abdul
The announcement follows Iraq’s agreement Jabbar.
last month to begin doubling its fuel oil supplies
from the current 500,000 tonne per year (tpy) Regulations eased
level. Meanwhile, last week Lebanon said it would
The Lebanese minister noted that Iraqi fuel allow direct importing of diesel as it seeks to ease
oil does not meet the specifications required for fuel shortages.
use in Lebanese power stations, so the supplies Industry Minister Imad Hoballah said:
received will be exchanged with third parties that “Subsidies for diesel will stop and we consider
can supply appropriate products. it stopped.”
He said that the volume would account for He added that the government had decided
around a third of EDL’s requirement, noting he to waive the requirement to seek its permission
hoped EDL could use it to provide “up to nine for diesel and other petroleum derivatives in an
or 10 hours [per day] of electricity over four attempt to increase the availability of the fuels for
months”. use in private generators and thereby reduce the
Ghajar added that the Iraqi government had load on state power facilities.™

Week 30 29•July•2021 www. NEWSBASE .com P9