Algeria ships 30,000 tons of fuel to power-starved Lebanon
Move comes after Lebanese power plants ground to a halt as fuel supplies dried up amid economic meltdown
An Algerian oil tanker set sail Thursday for power-hungry Lebanon, Algeria’s official news agency said, with 30,000 tons of fuel destined to restart turbines in the country grappling with years of economic meltdown.
Clashes in Lebanon’s south between the Iran-backed Hezbollah terror group and Israel since October have only added to the troubles of a country which is largely rudderless politically, whose economy collapsed five years ago and where power blackouts are routine.
Algerian Prime Minister Nadir Larbaoui spoke by telephone with his Lebanese counterpart, caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati, “to inform him of the decision taken by President Tebboune to stand beside brother Lebanon… and immediately provide a quantity of fuel to make the power plant function and re-establish electricity,” Algeria’s official APS agency reported.
Other shipments are expected to follow the initial delivery but no details have been released.
Algeria’s President Abdelmadjid Tebboune decided to help Lebanon after the country’s state-run electricity company said on Saturday that its turbines would stop due to lack of fuel.
Lebanese have relied on small private electricity generators, and are accustomed to power cuts lasting almost an entire day.
Algeria is a member of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries. Iraq, another OPEC member, said in August 2022 that it had agreed to renew a one-year deal to provide Lebanon with one million tons of fuel in exchange for in-kind services.
The initial deal with Iraq enabled Lebanon’s power stations to produce one to two hours of electricity per day.
