According to the Ministry of Finance, transfers to EDL stood at $535.16M by July 2020, dropping by 36.2% compared to the same period last year. This was mainly due to lower payments to KPC and Sonatrach for fuel oil purchases, and lower debt services.
In details “Payments to fuel and oil gas suppliers KPC and SPC”, constituting 99.69% of total transfers, slumped yearly by 36.2% to $533.54M by July 2020, as the volumes of fuel and gaz oil imported decreased by 20.09% and 10.76%, respectively. Worth mentioning that the average crude oil price retreated annually by 39.4% to 40.22$/barrel in the first 7 months of 2020.
EDL contributed 0.01% of the total Jan-July 2020 oil bill, lower than the 0.45% share paid in the same period last year, out of a higher bill of $840.46M. In nominal terms, EDL’s contribution amounted to $53,333 by July 2020, compared to $3.78M during the same period of 2019.
EDL transfers represented a share of 8.6% of the government’s primary expenditures (excluding interest payments), which reached $6.20B by July 2020, compared to a higher share of 13.1% last year.
Lebanon’s energy sector continued to suffer with the absence of an optimal solution to increase electricity supply. Lebanon cannot escape from its financial crisis until it applies serious reforms on the energy sector. As such, policymakers must fight corruption in the electricity sector by imposing new laws and increasing transparency.
EDL Contribution from Total Oil Bill by July 2020
