The Ministry of Energy clarified recent inaccuracies circulating on social media and some media outlets about the import of diesel by the Ministry of Energy and Water. It stated that the tanker "KALLOS" arrived in Lebanese territorial waters at 7 AM on Friday, August 18, 2023, and is currently anchored off the Zahrani plant. The tanker "ARIADNE" arrived at 7 PM on the same day and is now anchored off the Dhir Ammar plant. Together, these tankers constitute the gas oil shipment designated for August 2023, supplied for the benefit of Electricité du Liban under the exchange agreement between the Republic of Iraq and the Republic of Lebanon. Their cargoes will be discharged as soon as the results of their laboratory tests from Bureau Veritas in Dubai, UAE are received, and the monitoring companies confirm the compliance of their cargoes with the contractual specifications, after which discharge permits will be issued, a process that typically takes around 72 hours.
Regarding the "ARDMORE" tanker, the ministry stated that it was supplied as a result of a public tender launched through the Public Procurement Authority's website, in accordance with public procurement laws and under the supervision of the mentioned authority, after obtaining approval from the ministerial committee formed under item 2 of Cabinet Decision No. 3 dated January 18, 2023, as recorded in its session minutes held on April 12, 2023. All stages of that public tender are documented and published publicly on the Public Procurement Authority's website for those interested in reviewing them. The monitoring company confirmed the AWARD's specifications on August 11, 2023, and issued a discharge permit; it is thus ready to begin the connection process upon the Central Bank of Lebanon opening its letter of credit.
The ministry noted that both the Secretary-General of the Cabinet, the Ministry of Finance, and the Central Bank of Lebanon were informed through letter No. 134/T/10 dated July 3, 2023, about the temporary assignment of the contract to the concerned supplier, and the freezing period runs from July 3, 2023, to July 14, 2023. After this freezing period, no objections were registered from any party, including the Cabinet Secretary-General, the Ministry of Finance, or the Central Bank of Lebanon. In fact, the Ministry of Finance approved the request to open the relevant letter of credit on August 7, 2023, which was subsequently sent directly to the Central Bank for opening, but this has not yet occurred.
The ministry clarified that the price of the "ARDMORE" tanker cargo is about 30 million USD, not 80 million USD as reported in the media. The letter of credit has been approved by the Ministry of Finance and is now with the Central Bank of Lebanon waiting to be opened since August 7, 2023. In any case, the price of this cargo is secured and can be covered either by the advance provided under Cabinet Decision No. 3 dated January 18, 2023, which amounts to 300 million USD (of which only about 193 million USD has been used, leaving approximately 107 million USD) or through the daily revenue collected in Lebanese pounds by Electricité du Liban, which is accumulating in its accounts at the Central Bank without being converted into USD as per the procedure specified by the Central Bank.
Furthermore, the ministry views the extension of the Iraqi exchange agreement until the end of October 2023, instead of the end of November 2023, and the resulting increase in the monthly quantities supplied under it, particularly for August and September 2023, as tied to fluctuations in global fuel prices, especially the prices of Iraqi heavy fuel oil and gas oil. This necessitated precautionary measures to secure sufficient fuel stocks to ensure the continuity of electricity production and daily supply for about 4 to 6 hours at most (not as per the original plan) until the end of the year, in anticipation of any delays in the administrative procedures related to renewing this agreement for the third year.
