Lebanon Gas Deal with Egypt To be Sealed Next Week- Energy Ministry

Lebanon's Energy Ministry said that Lebanon will sign a "final" agreement to import gas from Egypt on June 21, after months of delays in a plan deemed essential to boost electricity supplies to the struggling Lebanese economy, according to Reuters.

The plan is part of a US-backed effort to address Lebanon's chronic electricity shortage using Egyptian gas supplied via Jordan and Syria.

A US official said earlier that final approval of the agreement between the two countries would allow Washington to assess whether the agreement complies with US sanctions on Syria, after which the gas could "permanently flow."

The deal is a cornerstone of the Lebanese government's plan to reform the electricity sector by increasing energy supplies and then raising prices in an attempt to plug the deficit of the state-run electricity company amid a severe economic crisis.

The World Bank pledged to finance both deals on the condition of reforms to the Lebanese electricity sector, which has contributed tens of billions of dollars to the country's huge public debt.

The United States enacted the Caesar Act in 2019 to allow it to freeze the assets of anyone doing business with Syria, with the aim of forcing President Bashar al-Assad to agree on a political solution.