Egyptian pipeline enters the scene to ease Lebanon's energy shortages

The situation in Lebanon is verging on the apocalyptic. The country, labelled by some observers as a blatant failed state, is in a period of crisis unprecedented in the last century. The delicate political, social and economic situation is forcing the Lebanese to scramble for survival on a daily basis. It is, however, the fuel shortage that is at the heart of all the other problems. It is a problem for which their regional neighbours are trying to find a solution.

Against this backdrop, Lebanese Energy Minister Raymond Ghajar travelled to the Jordanian capital of Amman on Wednesday to meet with Jordanian Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources Hala Zawati, Syrian Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources Bassam Tohme and Egyptian Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources Tarek El Molla. The terms of the talks were based on the objective of providing Lebanon with the capacity to supply its deep energy needs.

The Arab ministers pledged to their Lebanese counterpart to provide up to 17 hours of electricity per day to Lebanon, a measure that would mitigate the country's regular power outages that often exceed 22 hours. Minister El Molla hopes to implement the agreement "as soon as possible", as his country would play a key role. Natural gas from Egypt will be channelled through Syria and Jordan to Lebanon. Once there, it will fuel a nation whose largest supplier, Electricité du Liban (EDL), currently generates insufficient amounts of power.

The pipeline used is more than 20 years old and has not been used for a decade, so it will undergo revisions and modifications before becoming operational. "It's almost ready. Some things need to be fixed here and there," Jordanian Minister Hala Zawati told a press conference after the meeting. However, the canal could take a few weeks to complete. El Molla said that some clauses of the contract should be "reviewed".

Lebanon is working with the UN to find funding. Lebanon does not have the resources to meet the disbursement, and more long-term debt would be detrimental to Beirut. In any case, if the project is implemented, Lebanese families would no longer be dependent on small and expensive privately owned generators. Experts also determine that the country would need a supply of around 3,500 MW, an amount that Lebanon hopes to generate at a power plant in the north of the country.

Syria's participation jeopardises the agreement. The regime of Bashar al-Assad faces a battery of sanctions imposed by Washington since its atrocious repression against the civilian population during the fratricidal war in that country. The Alawite leader's representative at the meeting, Bassam Tohme, said Damascus was ready to cooperate. "Syria will do everything possible to make the plan a success," he said. This is a strategy aimed at bringing Syria closer to its regional neighbours after years of estrangement and isolation, locked in the Iranian orbit.

The Lebanese government was forced to withdraw part of its fuel import subsidies, a move that led to a 60 per cent increase in the price of petrol. The desperate situation of many families has resulted in raids on petrol stations and depots, forcing the security forces to safeguard these centres. The consequences of the energy shortages have in turn led to shortages of medicines and other basic supplies.

Lebanon's protracted political deadlock faded with the appointment in July of Najib Mikati as prime minister to replace Saad Hariri. Mikati, now in office for the third time, has so far failed to open the door to a political transition or to implement material solutions to the energy crisis. For this reason, Hezbollah has decided to unilaterally take control of the situation and initiate negotiations with the aim of supplying Lebanon with fuel in parallel to the government. This is where Tehran comes in.

Mikati himself was among the first to warn the so-called "Party of God" of the possible consequences Lebanon's economy would face if it continued to import Iranian black gold. Hezbollah, a state within a state, 'de facto' controls the country and maintains strong ties with the Islamic Republic. This relationship has provided military and political capital to the Shi'a organisation in the past and close cooperation is expected to continue in the near future.

At least one Persian oil tanker is known to have sailed to the vicinity of the Lebanese coast to supply fuel reserves and defuse the delicate energy situation. This was announced by the charismatic leader of the Islamic militia, Hassan Nasrallah, who also pledged to increase the transit of Iranian vessels. Nasrallah has even gone so far as to propose to the Persian authorities the exploitation of oil fields in the Mediterranean waters bordering Israel, which have yet to be delimited. "As long as the country needs it, we will continue this process," said Hezbollah's number one.

The company seems to be ignoring the US embargo on Iranian companies following its withdrawal from the nuclear pact. A desperate solution while the Lebanese currency has lost 90% of its value since 2019 and inflation has soared to 200%. Lebanon's hospitals can only run at half throttle during the pandemic and sewage treatment has slowed operations, leaving millions of people without access to water and putting public and environmental health at risk. The international community will need to take action to unblock the situation.