Lebanon’s Energy Minister Walid Fayyad said on 7 July that Baghdad has “expressed an intent” in renewing a swap deal under which Iraq (indirectly) supplies fuel for the beleaguered power sector of the east Mediterranean state.
Under the original one-year deal signed in June 2021 Iraq pledged Lebanon 1mn tons (6.5mn barrels) of fuel oil to be utilized for power generation (MEES, 18 June 2021). In return, Iraq would receive payment in services. With Iraqi fuel oil falling short of Lebanon’s standards, a convoluted swap deal was arranged with Lebanon receiving a variety of fuels including gasoil (MEES, 17 September 2021). (CONTINUED - 168 WORDS)