Iraq pledges fuel oil to Lebanon to deal with electricity shortages
Lebanon is experiencing an unprecedented socio-economic crisis, marked by severe shortages: the draconian rationing of electric current sometimes reaches twenty-three hours of cuts per day.
AFP - ANWAR AMRO
Text by: RFI Follow
2 min
Beirut and Baghdad signed an agreement on Saturday, July 24, under which Iraq undertakes to supply Lebanon with one million tonnes of oil.
They will be used to power the power stations of the country of the cedar, plagued by serious shortages of electricity.
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With our correspondent in Beirut
,
Paul Khalifeh
Iraqi oil will allow Lebanon to increase the electricity supply from four hours to ten or twelve hours a day for four months, according to Energy Minister Raymond Ghaja.
The first shipment is expected in Beirut in less than ten days.
The value of one million tonnes of Iraqi oil is estimated at $ 300 million.
It will be paid in Lebanese pounds, medical services, hospitals and agricultural products.
Iraqi aid therefore brings a breath of fresh air in a country hit by an unprecedented socio-economic crisis, marked by severe shortages.
The draconian rationing of electric current sometimes reaches twenty-three hours of cuts per day.
Trading petroleum for refined products
The shortage of fuel oil also forced private generators, which took over from the state, to ration several hours.
Result: the Lebanese live without electricity part of the day and night.
But gray areas persist around the transaction.
Lebanese sources claim that Iraq will deliver oil which Lebanon will then exchange for fuel oil or fuel oil with a third country.
A process that will take weeks.
However, Iraqi Prime Minister Mustapha al-Kazimi has announced that Iraq will deliver already refined products.
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Lebanon
Iraq
Economic crisis
Energies
Oil
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