Since being unveiled in August 2021, the plan to bring Egyptian gas and electricity from Jordan to Lebanon, via Syria, has been littered with obstacles. The guarantees requested from the American administration by Cairo, with regard to the sanctions imposed on the Syrian regime, and the conditioning of a World Bank loan on the reform of the electricity sector in Lebanon have delayed the finalization of a OK. “Within two months, we will receive Egyptian gas and electricity from Jordan,” assures, now optimistic, the Lebanese Minister of Energy, Walid Fayyad, at the World.
Experts consider the timetable to be very ambitious, despite the “progress” reported by the American special envoy Amos Hochstein, during his visit to Beirut, Wednesday, February 9. For the latter, there will be no ” Second chance “. The energy agreement could provide six hours of additional electricity to the land of Cedars, while the national company Electricité du Liban (EDL) only provides two hours a day – an average production of 400 megawatts (MW), against 1 500 MW before the crisis.
The Jordanian part of the agreement, which plans to import around 200 MW of electricity through high-voltage lines that link Jordan to Lebanon, via Syria, was signed at the end of January. The Egyptian aspect remains the priority. “The Americans have a geopolitical interest in linking Lebanon to Egypt and consolidating Egypt’s role as a gas hub”underlines a foreign observer, who considers “the agreement already well tied up on the technical side”. The gas should make it possible to use the Deir Ammar power station (North) at full capacity (450 MW).
“The Egyptians want strong guarantees”
“Some 650 million cubic meters of gas per year will be transported from Egypt to Jordan via the [gazoduc] Arab Gas Pipeline, then to Syria, where they will be used to generate electricity. An exchange is planned with the Syrians, who will give us gas from the Homs field [Ouest] », explains Walid Fayyad. In return, the Syrian regime will be allocated a share of Egyptian gas: 8%, the Syrian oil ministry said on February 5. “It is still under discussion”, says Mr. Fayyad.
“The US administration supports the agreement and undertakes to provide a letter which clarifies that the agreement does not involve sanctions. I hope that in a few days we will have a contract”, continues the Minister. These guarantees are required of Egyptians, who fear falling under the sanctions provided for since 2019 under the “Cesar” law against any natural or legal person trading with the Damascus regime or contributing to the reconstruction of the country.
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