According to the Ministry of Finance, transfers to EDL stood at $810.52M by November 2020, dropping by 41.1% compared to the same period last year. This was mainly a result of 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 99.78% of total transfers, slumped yearly by 41.1% to $808.72M by November 2020, as the volumes of fuel and gas oil imported decreased by 22.70% and 11.49%, respectively.
EDL contributed 0.07% of the total Jan-Nov 2020 oil bill, higher by 0.29% during the same period last year, out of a higher bill of $1.37B. In nominal terms, EDL’s contribution amounted to $563,847 by November 2020, compared to $4.06M over the same period of 2019.
EDL transfers represented a share of 8.2% of the government’s primary expenditures (excluding interest payments), which reached $730.26M by December 2020, compared to a higher share of 14.3% last year.
Importantly, data available for EDL transfers is still not available for the recent period. However, the Electricity sector in Lebanon is still adding pressure to the financial crisis in Lebanon. As of June 2021, EDL was able to unload only one Tanker of fuel oil but failed to open credit documents for another. Furthermore, Lebanon might experience longer periods without electricity as fuel oil will have to be further regulated, especially amid uncertainty about the fuel agreement with Iraq.
EDL Contribution from Total Oil Bill by November
