Algeria has launched a humanitarian mission to bring urgently needed fuel to Lebanon, ending a nearly two-week blackout at the country’s central power company. It is the first of several efforts in the coming days to try to restore a steady supply of fuel to the impoverished country.
Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune ordered state-owned oil company Sonatrach to arrange an emergency delivery of fuel to Lebanon, shortly after Electricite du Liban announced it had run out of fuel for its power plants. The company said on August 17 that it had run out of fuel stocks because its reserves had been depleted. The shutdown triggered a crisis that affected operations at Beirut’s port, international airport and key services such as sewage and drinking water supplies.
EdL has an agreement with Iraq under which it normally imports heavy fuel oil, but the company must then sell the fuel because it needs low-sulphur fuel or gas oil for its generators. Iraq suspended supplies to Lebanon, accusing it of not paying for an earlier shipment.
The product tanker In Ecker (40,000 dwt) was loaded with 30,000 tons of low-sulphur fuel for power plants that Algeria is donating to Lebanon as part of a humanitarian operation. The ship left the Skikda oil terminal on August 22 and arrived yesterday, August 27, at the port of Tripoli in Lebanon. Egypt has also pledged a fuel shipment and there is also an agreement to supply gasoil to Lebanon in September. Iraq has also agreed to resume its deliveries to Lebanon.
Lebanon’s electricity grid is reportedly facing numerous crises due to long-term underinvestment. In parts of the country, electricity supply is typically limited to two to a maximum of four hours per day. After EdL ran out of fuel, people were forced to rely entirely on private diesel generators. When EdL is operational, it can supply 1,600 to 2,000 MW daily.
