Lebanon received Saturday the first batch of gasoline to the Zahrani Oil Installations under a new deal to import fuel on behalf of the state. Caretaker Energy Minister Nada Boustani attended the delivery of the first batch of imported gasoline by the state, stressing that this is a positive step.
“Our main client will be the Lebanese Army, and the commodities will be sold in Lebanese pounds,” Boustani said, assuring no more lack of fuel products in Lebanon from now on.
She added that the government received 24,000 tons of fuel with other vessels expected to arrive soon. She encouraged the future minister to do more tenders and to continue this process, as there is a lot of processes that can improve the sector.
She then stressed that the quality of the fuel will be tested in the same labs as previous imports. “As for the price, we need some time to see how the market will deal with this step. The future minister will then decide how to price the fuel,” Boustani said.
With a very hopeful mood, the Minister assured that all the problems regarding the distribution and pricing have been solved and that every problem has a solution, so there’s no need to worry.
The Lebanese company ZR Energy won a tender process to import 150,000 tons of gasoline in December. The decision came after Lebanon went through a fuel crisis that witnessed a series of strikes taken by the Syndicate of Gas Station Owners.
From his behalf, the Director-General of Oil Installations, Sarkis Hlaiss, congratulated the Lebanese for the state’s return to the sector, assuring that this is an important step. And, on whether this process will include the gas sector, Hlaiss said: “The gas sector is after the gasoline.”
With such steps taken, we hope that the state improves and takes back all the sectors, and to rely more on the Lebanese pounds, rather than buying and selling using foreign pounds.
