#Iraq's oil ministry announced today the "start of trial operations" at the 140,000 bpd Karbala refinery- considered part of Iraq's refinery upgrade plans to address product imbalance & improve product yields. (Photo circulated by the oil ministry) #OOTT . More below: 2) Iraq will most likely continue to remain a net importer of gasoline and gasoil through 2030, some have noted.

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.

#Lebanon: My new work for @amwajmedia on the current disorder in Lebanon’s energy sector: what triggered it, immediate solution to allow discharge of more fuel ships- ready to be offloaded- &Hezbollah’s narrative of need for Iranian oil in light of this: bit.ly/3mgifTI I focus 1) on the abdication of a govt body that has long presented itself as a "market regulator", & the distribution+ sales problems compounded by the state's short-sighted fiscal policies, causing delays in unloading oil tankers that have continuously called on #Lebanon.

#Lebanon: Guess it’s time for a thread on Lebanon’s energy imports sector due to some misinformation. 1)Oil tankers in general have never stopped calling on Lebanon. Tankers laden with fuel oil ( for power generation), gasoil/diesel, gasoline, and LPG (cooking gas). Lebanon is not under "siege" as some continue to say without offering solid data.

On Lebanon's civil society: I have noticed that a number of observers are trying to understand the #LebanonProtests. The protests are not magic.They’re product of years of work:The work of Lebanon's civil society that needs to be acknowledged. #لبنان_يثور #لبنان__ينتفض #Beirut 1)Many remember the protests in 2015 that were covered by international media- now since that year, activists managed to achieve successes in some areas for first time, challenging the existing political system they're fighting. I will focus on elections in 2017/18: