Lebanese energy plan includes Syria
A meeting of Jordanian, Egyptian, Lebanese and Syrian ministers seems to have cracked Syria's isolation.
Four Arab countries have agreed on a road map to supply Egyptian natural gas to Lebanon through Jordan and Syria during a ministerial meeting in Amman on Sept. 8. They also approved a plan to supply Jordanian electricity at a later stage to energy-starved Lebanon through Syrian territory.
The ministerial meeting was attended by Jordan’s Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources Hala Zawati, Egyptian Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources Tarek El Molla, Syrian Minister of Oil and Mineral Resources Bassam Tohme and Lebanese Minister of Energy and Water Raymond Ghajar.
Ambassador to Lebanon Dorothy Shea first expressed US support for the proposal in a phone call to President Michel Aoun, according to an Aug. 19 statement from the Lebanese presidency. An informed source who requested anonymity told Al-Monitor that the idea was suggested by King Abdullah of Jordan during his visit to the White House last July.
During the Amman meeting, Zawati announced that Lebanon could be supplied with gas from Egypt via an existing pipeline that passes through Jordan, Syria and Lebanon as soon as the Syrian government rehabilitates its section of the pipeline. Ghajar said that the Egyptian gas will enable Lebanon to generate enough electricity to provide Lebanese households with four hours of power a day. He added that Lebanon is in contact with the World Bank to finance the cost of Egyptian gas.
