Jordan’s Minister of Energy Saleh Ali Hamed al-Kharabsheh and his Lebanese counterpart Walid Fayad are pictured after meeting in the Jordanian capital in October, 2021. (Credit: Khalil Mazraazi/AFP)
BEIRUT — Energy Minister Walid Fayad claimed on Wednesday that the work improving the struggling electricity sector “is moving in the right direction” and that the pending Egyptian gas deal will increase state-provided electricity by eight hours while the Jordanian deal will provide an extra two hours.
Here’s what we know:
• After a meeting with President Michel Aoun in Baabda, Fayad said that the president is supportive to the awaited deals and gave his approval of the repair of Lebanese sections of the Arab Gas Pipeline in Tripoli.
• Yesterday the Energy Minister announced the beginning of repair work on the AGP, a step needed to complete the Egyptian gas electricity deal.
• The Egyptian gas project is part of a US initiative announced during the summer by the US Ambassador to Lebanon Dorothy Shea. Implementation of the program would require the US to waive sanctions imposed on Syria under the Caesar Act. The Jordanian electricity project also seeks to improve Lebanese electricity by providing Syria with gas which would generate electricity for Lebanon.
• Fayad has previously said that the Jordanian deal could be signed by the end of 2021.