Sunday’s oil pipeline leak flooded agricultural land in the region. (Credit: Michel Hallak/L’Orient-Le Jour)
BEIRUT — A leak in an Iraqi oil pipeline that passes through Syria and then crosses Akkar in North Lebanon flooded agricultural land in the Bibnine-Abdeh region on Sunday, almost a year after an act of sabotage on the same pipeline caused a major fire and damage to the Lebanese aquatic ecosystem.
Here’s what we know:
• The leak was reported at the Diwan crossing in Bibnine-Abdeh on the Iraqi oil pipeline, which crosses Syria and then Akkar in Lebanon, our sister publication L’Orient-Le Jour reported. The fuel flooded farmland and damaged plastic greenhouses.
• Residents fear that a fire will break out following this leak, as was the case in November 2020. The previous leak resulted from an act of sabotage in which individuals perforated the pipeline in an attempt to steal fuel. The fire that subsequently broke out caused significant environmental damage.
• According to L’Orient-Le Jour, employees of the Tripoli Oil Installations have carried out maintenance work on the pipeline several times, but leaks continue to be reported in a number of places. The inhabitants of the area have reportedly urged the authorities to take action to prevent the situation from worsening.
• The director of the Civil Defense in Bibnine-Abdeh, Hilal Hosni, on Aug. 26 alerted the Tripoli oil authorities to the situation, prompting them to send a technical team to the site to stop another leak some 200 meters along the pipeline from Sunday’s leak. The head of Civil Defense warned of insufficient resources to fight fires in the event of a disaster.
• Akkar is one of the poorest regions in Lebanon. Infrastructure is in poor condition and maintenance is insufficient amid the country’s political and economic crises. On Aug. 15, a fuel tanker exploded in the village of Tleil in the region, killing more than 30 people.