On 17 February, Lebanese media reported that Egyptian and Syrian technical teams have completed repairs on the gas pipeline that connects Lebanon to Syria.

Reports received by the Lebanese Broadcasting Channel (LBCI) stated that the Arab Gas Pipeline (AGP) between Syria and Lebanon “has been repaired, under the supervision of the Egyptian delegation, the Syrian delegation and the employees of the oil facilities in Tripoli, and it is now ready” for the extraction of Egyptian gas headed for Lebanon.

According to reports on 29 September of last year, a Syrian technical team previously completed an inspection of the pipeline, which extends 36 kilometers between the Dabousiyah border point and the Deir Ammar power plant in Tripoli.

The inspection showed that there was no serious damage preventing the passage of gas. The reports also said that AGP maintenance needed a few days and would be handled by the Syrian team without cost.

The pipeline extends from Al-Arish in Egypt, through Aqaba and the Rehab region in Jordan, and through Syria’s Homs into Lebanon. The AGP is capable of absorbing around 7 billion cubic meters of natural gas annually.

After last year’s talks between the energy ministers of Lebanon, Syria, Jordan and Egypt, gas line repairs had been entrusted to an Egyptian company, the Technical Company for Egyptian Gas Lines Operation Services (TGS), but were delayed due to an exemption process from Caesar Act sanctions through the US Treasury Department.

The Caesar Act, which was passed in 2019 by the US Congress and imposed harsh economic sanctions on Syria, was also meant to prevent Lebanese cooperation and trade relations with the government of President Bashar al-Assad.

Despite this, last year Washington sponsored the agreement for the transfer of Egyptian gas into Lebanon through Jordan and Syria, in response to efforts by Hezbollah to import Iranian fuel to the crisis-hit nation.