Energy Minister Mohamed Beydoun announced this week that the Lebanese and Syrian sections of the Iraqi oil pipeline will be rehabilitated by a joint Lebanese-Syrian technical team starting in
January.
At the same time,the minister revealed that Syria will supply natural gas to Lebanon as from 2002 through a 50km pipeline that will be built between Telkah in Syria to Deir Ammar in northern Lebanon.
The cost of constructing the 50km pipeline will be between $12m and $15m.Beydoun said that Syria will supply 1.5 million m³of gas a day compared to a local consumption requirement of 12 million m³,with the remainder supplied from Egypt or Qatar.
Rehabilitation of the Iraqi pipeline will cost $2-$3m.In the meantime,the government is looking at studies to build a new oil refinery in Tripoli with a capacity of 150,000 barrels-a-day,which would takearound 2 years to build and probably cost more than $100m.
Rehabilitation of the existing refinery in Tripoli,if that course were followed,would take up to 6 months to ensure processing capacity of less than 20,000 barrels-a-day. ¯ ( Banque du Liban et d'Outre-Mer Sal )
© 2000 Mena Report (www.menareport.com)
