The Lebanese caretaker government announced that its Prime Minister Hassan Diab has been officially informed by Iraq of the doubling of the oil quantity allocated to Lebanon from 500,000 tons to 1 million tons annually. A statement issued by the Lebanese Prime Minister’s office on Twitter today, Wednesday, indicated that "the caretaker Prime Minister, Hassan Diab, has been officially informed of the decision of the Iraqi Cabinet to double the quantity of oil that the Iraqi government had approved for Lebanon from 500,000 tons to 1 million tons annually."
Diab had a phone conversation last night with Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa Al-Kadhimi, thanking him for his efforts and for the support from the Iraqi government to Lebanon "during this difficult phase." Al-Kadhimi praised "the role that Diab played under very difficult circumstances," affirming that "the Lebanese people deserve support in their current plight."
The Iraqi Ministry of Oil announced last December an agreement to supply Lebanon with fuel for power generation during the upcoming year at global market prices. According to a statement from the Iraqi ministry, "this came after the conclusion of a meeting between Iraqi Oil Minister Ihsan Abdul Jabbar Ismail and the visiting Lebanese delegation headed by Minister of Energy and Water Raymond Ghajar."
The Iraqi Oil Minister confirmed, according to the statement, that "an agreement was reached to sell a quantity of oil surplus to the needs of Iraqi refineries to Lebanon during the year 2021 and in limited quantities, at global market prices, as part of the joint cooperation between the two brotherly countries," expressing hope that "the agreement will achieve mutual interests, focusing on covering part of Lebanon's fuel needs for energy generation and enabling Iraq to generate revenue from the export of this type of fuel."
