Thread by @NoamRaydan

Thread on #Iran-#Lebanon energy talks through history, and recent reports about Iranian fuel oil "donation" to Lebanon for power plants (which require different oil products of different specs), with a focus on what Beirut-based Al Akhbar newspaper said earlier today:

1)Lebanese-Iranian energy talks date back to at least 2000. That year, Tehran offered to upgrade Lebanon's power plants&refineries amid talks of "resuming" crude oil flows from Iraq's Kirkuk to the Med. This did not happen, and talks remained talks.

2)In October 2010, #Iran offered to assist Lebanon in addressing chronic electricity shortages,& oil & gas exploration when former energy minister Gebran Bassil went to Tehran on an official visit. Later that month, former Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad visited Beirut.

3)Moving to 2011, the Lebanese cabinet approved an MOU between Iran& Lebanon on energy projects, but no concrete steps were taken with respect to the MOU.

4)In 2012, an Iranian delegation visited #Beirut where Iran’s Former First Vice President Riza Rahimi said Tehran agreed to invest in construction of power plants, & export of electricity to Lebanon via Syria & Iraq. Iranian energy proposals never got off the drawing board.

5)The 2012 Iranian visit overlapped with a visit to Beirut by former US Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs Jeffrey Feltman. Talks back then focused on sanctions on Damascus, Tehran, and Hezbollah, in addition to developments in Syria.

6)Between 2017 and 2020 (after the Beirut port blast), Iran renewed its electricity-related offers. There has been no official acceptance as of now. In 2021, Iranian diesel reached Lebanon's Hezbollah, but via Syria. It was distributed in different Lebanese areas.

7)Moving to the Lebanese "technical" delegation now in Tehran and today's news about Iranian fuel oil (600,000 tons) offered as a "donation" to Lebanon amid power outages: I will begin with what Al Akhbar newspaper reported this morning, and take it from there.

8)Al Akhbar quoted a source as saying: "The Lebanese energy ministry's delegation is not specialized in power plants but oil products." The source also said the Iranian fuel oil (FO) will need to be swapped similar to what's happening now with Iraqi FO because of specs issues.

9)Talking about fuel for power plants requires knowledge about Lebanon's power plants that run on gasoil and those on fuel oil and from where to obtain these oil products.

10)Below is an example of the specifications of the heavy fuel oil (so-called Grade A) used at the old Zouk (1984) and Jiyeh (1970) power plants (steam turbine), which generate power at a loss.
These are not to be confused with the Jiyeh and Zouk reciprocating engines (2017).

11)On the issue of Sulfur (S) content, fuel oil Grade A is to be rejected if the S content is more than 1pc. Argus @Bacharelhalabi and @ncitayim also quoted today Lebanese source saying Iranian fuel oil will be more than 1pc.

12)Iranian fuel oil (FO) just like Iraqi FO is high in sulfur. Iranian FO is 3.5pc S. Sulfur turns into pollutant when burned &that's why high sulfur fuel oil shouldn't be used in power plants close to residential areas like those of Zouk & Jiyeh. No politics here,only facts.

13)Other key power plants, Zahrani and Deir Ammar (Siemens manufacturer of turbines) run on gasoil not fuel oil. Specs here are very important too. Last year, there were issues with two oil cargoes due to specifications and there were delays in offloading amid power outages.

14)Al Akhbar and other reports have mentioned that the Iranian fuel oil offered as a "donation" to Lebanon may be swapped with a different oil product compatible with Lebanese standards. But unlike Iraqi oil, Iranian oil is sanctioned. So how will the swap happen?

15)It has been established by now that US sanctions have not stopped Iran from exporting its oil, and yes there are countries that need high sulfur fuel oil. But swap deals cannot help ease Lebanon's power outages. We have seen the results of the swap deal with Iraq.

16)Despite divergent Lebanese stances on #Iran, it is a country Lebanon can seriously cooperate with in energy areas ( building power plants), because it has the capabilities.But for the nth time,Lebanon's energy sector needs to be reformed first.Think of curbing losses first.

17)The Lebanese "technical" delegation will return to Beirut tomorrow, and probably more details will emerge on the talks in Tehran from the Lebanese government.

18)If interested in reading more about Iranian-Lebanese energy talks , you can check the article I wrote last year for @amwajmedia . amwaj.media/article/can-le…

On Iraqi-Lebanese oil talks, you can check my 2021 investigative report, turned documentary: bit.ly/3ShsvYr