Energy production costs skyrocket in first half

Transfers to EDL reach $1 billion

Transfers to Electricité du Liban (EDL) during the first half of 2012 constituted some 23 percent of primary spending, the highest share in the last three years, according to the Ministry of Finance.

Transfers to EDL reached around $1 billion at end-June, 44 percent higher than the same period of 2011.The difference was mainly driven by higher payments for fuel and gas oil purchases.

Payments to the two oil suppliers, KPC (Kuwaiti) and SPC (Algerian), totaled $950 million, up by more than 50 percent y-o-y. This increase was mainly driven by higher international oil prices at the time when the gas oil and fuel oil shipments were imported. The average oil price according to which this year’s payments were made is 36 percent higher than the price upon which the 2011 payments were made.

No reimbursements for purchases of natural gas from EGAS (Egyptian) have been made so far this year. During the first half of 2011 payments to EGAS had totaled $36 million.