BEIRUT: Lebanon signed a deal Tuesday to import natural gas from Egypt via Syria to boost power supply by an additional four hours a day amid round-the-clock cuts. Grappling with its worst-ever financial crisis, Lebanon launched talks with Egypt last year to import gas through the Arab Gas Pipeline, which passes through Jordan, Syria and Lebanon. On Tuesday, Lebanese Energy Minister Walid Fayad and Syrian and Egyptian officials signed a final version of the agreement in Beirut.
“The importance of this deal... stems from the fact that it will secure an additional four hours of electricity per day following its implementation,” Fayad told a press conference. The deal is a part of wider efforts — which include a separate electricity deal with Jordan — to boost supply by 8 to 10 hours a day in the coming months, up from just two currently.
Implementation of both agreements still needs World Bank funding and US assurances that they won’t trigger sanctions under the so-called Caesar Act which prohibits commercial dealings with Damascus.
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