Lebanese Energy Minister Walid Fayyad (L.) and Egypt’s Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources, Tarek el-Molla, in Cairo on April 14, 2022. (Credit: NNA)
BEIRUT – Energy Minister Walid Fayyad discussed on Thursday contract terms for the long-awaited deal to export Egyptian gas to Lebanon with Egypt’s Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources, Tarek el-Molla, in Cairo. The ministers agreed on most terms and the necessary procedures are currently being completed to start exporting gas, the National News Agency reported.
Here’s what we know:
• Fayyad admitted that the project’s completion “is currently in the hands of the World Bank, who would secure the necessary funding, as well as the United States” which will grant exemptions to the Caesar Act, which criminalizes those who do business with the Syrian Assad regime.
• In August 2021, the United States announced a two-fold initiative to help energy-starved Lebanon by securing electricity via Jordan and importing gas from Egypt. The deal, however, has yet to materialize, largely because of issues with the financing of the energy imports.