The governments of Iraq and Lebanon concluded a preliminary agreement providing for the reactivation of the Tripoli oil refinery, which was shut down in 1982 during the Lebanese civil war. The facility had a prewar capacity of some 450,000-500,000 barrels per day.
Under the terms of the deal, Iraq committed to supplying all of Lebanon’s crude oil needs, at competitive prices. The Iraqi petroleum will be pumped from the Kirkouk oilfields in northern Iraq to the northern Lebanese port of Tripoli via a restored pipeline, which passes through Syria.
The move marks a peak in the warming relations between the two countries. The neighbors have signed a bilateral free trade agreement in April 2002, in compliance with the United Nations sanctions and the oil-for-food program. In 1994, Lebanon severed diplomatic relations with Iraq, following the murder of an Iraqi dissident on its territory. — (menareport.com)
© 2002 Mena Report (www.menareport.com)
