Lebanon signed a preliminary agreement with Egypt on Monday to import natural gas to ease electricity shortages and reduce its reliance on high-cost fuel oil imports, officials said.
Lebanese Energy Minister Joe Saddi signed the agreement with his Egyptian counterpart Karim Badawi during his visit to Beirut.
The deal will allow Lebanon to import natural gas from Egypt when volumes “become available”, Mr Saddi said.
Egypt, an important gas producer in the Eastern Mediterranean, has experienced a domestic production decline in recent years, despite big discoveries such as the Zohr gasfield.
To meet its domestic requirements, Cairo signed a $35 billion agreement with Israel this month to import gas from the latter’s offshore Leviathan field.
Egypt’s gas production is forecast to slide to 43 billion cubic metres this year, down from 49 bcm last year and significantly lower than its peak of 70 bcm, according to energy consultancy Rystad.
However, Mr Saddi remained upbeat about the prospects of importing Egyptian gas. Beirut would rehabilitate a defunct part of the Arab Gas pipeline that connects Egypt to Jordan’s Aqaba and reaches Lebanon through northern Syria.
“We received an assessment regarding what is required from the Lebanese side to rehabilitate the pipeline from the Lebanese section, its cost, and how long it will take. It turned out that its cost is not large, and the time we need is approximately three to four months,” Mr Saddi said.
The gas would then be supplied to Lebanon’s 465 megawatt Deir Ammar power plant, which currently uses polluting fuel oil to generate electricity.
Mr Saddi added that the Lebanese Energy Ministry was in contact with donors to help finance the rehabilitation of the Lebanese portion of the gas pipeline connecting the power plant.
He added that discussions are under way with Gulf states and the World Bank’s International Finance Corporation to support Beirut in building new gas-fired power plants and a regasification terminal, which would allow Lebanon to receive liquefied natural gas and convert it from its supercooled form into usable gas.
Plans to import Egyptian gas first gained traction in 2022 as part of US-backed efforts to ease Lebanon's electricity crisis. Initial plans included supplying 650 million cubic metres of natural gas a year from Egypt to Lebanon through Syria.
Jordan also said last month it was ready to provide energy to Lebanon and Syria, after officials from the three countries met in Amman to revive electricity and gas supply schemes backed by the US.
