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Iraq ships gasoil to Lebanon as aid

LEBANON IRAQ has begun delivering gasoil to Lebanon as also delivered some 20 tonnes of medical aid.
a form of humanitarian aid following an explo- Gasoil and heavy fuel oil are used as feedstock at
sion last week that flattened much of Beirut’s port many of Lebanon’s power plants. But shortages
and the surrounding area. have been chronic and the country’s electricity
Lebanese officials say the blast occurred at a infrastructure is poorly maintained, which has
warehouse which stored some 2,740 tonnes of resulted in frequent power outages for decades.
ammonium nitrate and caused up to $15bn in Blackouts have become even more common
damage. The explosion left at least 158 people recently as a result of a dispute with Sonatrach,
dead, 6,000 injured and 300,000 homeless. Lebanon’s main fuel oil supplier, over accusa-
Lebanon is already struggling with years of tions that the Algerian firm has been adulterat-
economic decline and government mismanage- ing supplies.
ment and corruption, and the disaster has stoked Lebanon has said it wants to diversify its
public anger against the authorities. The country fuel imports once contracts with Sonatrach and
has reached out to dozens of countries for finan- Kuwait’s KPC expire at the end of this year. The
cial and humanitarian support. government is in talks with companies and is
In a statement on August 8, the Iraqi embassy preparing to hold a tender for fuel oil deliveries
in Beirut said that a convoy of 20 road tankers beginning in 2021.
laden with 720,000 litres of gasoil had arrived in Ismael noted that Iraq was also willing to
Lebanon. Iraq stands by its “brother” Lebanon,” provide Lebanon with heavy fuel oil. The two
the embassy said. countries held negotiations last month on Iraq
Iraqi Oil Minister Ihsan Ismael said gasoil supplying fuel oil to Lebanon in exchange for
cargoes would continue, noting that Iraq had agricultural products. ™

UAE begins tests at new Fujairah

storage facilities

UAE FUJAIRAH oil storage operator Brooge Energy maximising revenues.
has announced the start of hydrotests at its Brooge enjoyed a 23% growth in revenues last
The facilites will add Phase-2 facilities at the UAE port. year to $44mn after reaching a multi-year agree-
6.3mn barrels to The tests, used to assess tanks’ integrity, ment with an offtake customer for its Phase-1
Brooge’s oil storage means the project is now at an advanced stage of facilities. It is currently drawing up plans for a
capacity. development, Brooge said. Phase-3 expansion, which will add an extra
“We are nearing an advanced and important 22mn barrels of storage space. It also plans to
leg of the construction of our Phase-2 oil storage build a 180,000 barrel per day (bpd) oil refinery
facility and are very pleased to reach this mile- under this stage.
stone, notwithstanding the current challenges Brooge will only commit to Phase 3 after the
due to ongoing restrictions,” Brooge CEO Nico- planned facilities are fully contracted. The com-
laas Paardenkooper said. pany is unlikely to have much difficulty in secur-
The Phase-2 facilities will expand Brooge’s oil ing customers, though, given that global storage
storage capacity to 1mn cubic metres, or 6.3mn levels are at a record high this year because of the
barrels, from the current 2.5mn barrels. This will collapse in demand triggered by the coronavirus
make Brooge the second-largest non-captive COVID-19 pandemic.
storage provider in Fujairah, Paardenkooper Fujairah is a popular location for stor-
said. age, situated beyond the congested Strait of
Due online later this year, the facilities Hormuz that Iran has at times threatened to
are already fully contracted on a multi-year block. It is also a major hub for vessel bun-
basis, and will therefore run at full capacity, kering. ™

P18 www. NEWSBASE .com Week 32 13•August•2020