Egypt: Gas Transfer to Lebanon Finalized Soon
Bureaucratic procedures to supply Lebanon with gas in a few weeks are completed.
The Egyptian Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources, Tarek el-Molla, announced that the necessary procedures to supply Lebanon with Egyptian natural gas are set to be completed within the next few weeks.
The Minister also confirmed that he reached an agreement with the Lebanese side on the timeframe to finalize the procedures and to coordinate with Jordan and Syria to allow the passage of natural gas through their territory.
According to a statement issued by the Egyptian Petroleum Ministry, the Lebanese Minister of Energy and Water, Walid Fayyad, held talks with several Egyptian officials on finalizing the procedures for supplying Lebanon with Egyptian natural gas.
El-Molla: Agreement on timeframe reached
El-Molla announced, during a joint press conference with his Lebanese counterpart, that the discussions with Fayyad were fruitful and successful in setting a road map for supplying Lebanon with Egyptian gas. The discussions included all technical, commercial, and contractual aspects, as well as the supply and transfer mechanism.
Fayyad: Egypt to offer more supplies of gas to Lebanon
On his part, the Lebanese Minister of Energy and Water announced that the talks in Egypt were successful and revealed discussions on swift mechanisms aimed at reactivating the agreements of transferring Egyptian gas to Lebanon through the Arab gas pipeline passing through Jordan and Syria.
He also indicated that Egypt offered to supply additional quantities of gas to Lebanon, whether in the short or long term, explaining that this cooperation will contribute to improving the Lebanese energy sector.
The Arab gas pipeline project
The Arab Gas Pipeline was implemented in 3 phases, the first from Al-Arish in the Sinai Peninsula to the Jordanian Aqaba, with a length of 265 km, and the second from Aqaba to the Rehab area in northern Jordan with a length of 393 km.
The supply of gas to power plants in the north of the Kingdom of Jordan began in February 2006. The second phase of the Arab gas line from Rehab to the Jordanian-Syrian border, with a length of 30 km, was completed in March 2008.
The implementation of the southern part of the third phase of the Arab gas pipeline inside Syrian territory, extending from the Jordanian-Syrian border to the city of Homs, with a length of 320 km, was completed and put into operation in July 2008.
The export of Egyptian natural gas to Lebanon via Jordan began in November 2009 until 2011, when it was interrupted by the war on Syria.