Page 6 - MEOG Week 25 2022

MEOG PIPELINES & TRANSPORT MEOG

Egypt, Syria, Lebanon sign long-

promised gas supply contract

LEBANON/SYRIA EGYPT, Syria and Lebanon have signed a electricity reforms in March. The plan is still
long-promised natural gas supply contract pending implementation.
under which Egypt will use the Arab Gas Pipe- The announcement follows the decision last
line, which crosses Jordan and Syria, to deliver week by the Lebanese government to extend
650mn cubic metres per year of gas to Lebanon. the deadline for the country’s second licensing
Energy-starved Lebanon plans to use the round until the end of the year.
Egyptian gas to power the Deir Ammar thermal On the back of advice from the Lebanese
power plant (TPP), a 450-MW facility that can Petroleum Administration (LPA), the govern-
run on either gas or diesel. The deal will help ment pushed back the bidding deadline for the
secure an additional four hours of electricity a second offshore licensing round from June 15 to
day, in addition to the two hours a day the gov- December 15.
ernment currently allots to citizens. The original bidding deadline was January 31,
The cash-strapped Lebanese government 2020 and this was extended first to April 30, then
managed to secure the deal because Egypt June 1 amid the coronavirus (COVID-19) pan-
offered to sell the gas at a very generous 30% dis- demic and falling oil and gas prices. The dead-
count to global prices, because the World Bank line was then moved to the end of 2021, with the
pledged to finance Lebanon’s payments for the process relaunched in December with a view to
gas imports and because the US government closing this month.
gave assurances that the deal would be exempted The government said that the delay was
from the Caesar Act, which prohibits com- “necessary to allow additional companies not
mercial dealings with Syria. The World Bank’s currently operating in the Lebanese offshore to
pledge, meanwhile, is contingent on Lebanon prepare their files and studies and participate
enacting power sector reforms to reduce waste in the second licensing round, thus allowing an
and boost tariff collection. acceptable level of competition among interna-
Lebanon’s cabinet passed a set of broad tional oil and gas companies.”™

Syria
Nicosia Baniyas
Cyprus Homs

Gas fields
Tripoli
Oil fields
LNG Refinery Beirut
Port Lebanon
Aphrodite
Pipeline Damascus
Planned Pipeline Tamar
EEZ Border Zohr
Leviathan
Tel Aviv
Raven
Amman
Ashkelon

Idku
Damietta Arish Israel
Port Said Jordan
Suez Canal
Cairo
Egypt Taba Aqaba

100km
100miles

P6 www. NEWSBASE .com Week 25 22•June•2022