Beirut: Energy and Water Minister Joe Saddi on Monday began a visit to Tripoli with an inspection of the oil and gas installations in Beddawi, accompanied by Director General of Oil Maurice Karkafi, Petroleum Administration Board members Dr. Wissam Zahabi and Jean Paul Sabbagh, and Prime Ministerial adviser Dr. Lamia Moubayed.

According to National News Agency - Lebanon, the field visit focused on the condition of the facilities and their equipment, operational needs, and plans for development and expansion. Saddi also inspected maintenance work on the gas pipeline being carried out by Egyptian Technical Gas Services (TGS), which began around two weeks ago. The current phase is expected to continue for four weeks.

Saddi and the delegation were received by the heads of the marine, land, medical, and gas departments, along with senior officials and employees at the installations. The minister was briefed on operational procedures, the role of the various departments, existing capabilities, and the requirements needed to enhance operational capacity.

TGS engineers also briefed Saddi on the gas pipeline maintenance works. Once the maintenance phase is completed, a two-week testing phase is expected to begin when gas starts flowing through the pipeline.

The minister toured the installations, inspected equipment and infrastructure related to the oil and gas sectors, and examined storage tanks throughout the facility. He received detailed briefings on their storage capacity, operational condition, and required maintenance and rehabilitation works.

Discussions also addressed the possibility of developing the Beddawi facilities and expanding their storage capacity to make greater use of the existing infrastructure, strengthen their role in storing petroleum products and gas, and help meet market demand.

Speaking to reporters, Saddi said shifting electricity generation toward natural gas was a key step in reducing production costs and limiting environmental impact, noting that he had made the transition to gas-based power generation a priority since taking office.

He said rehabilitation of the gas pipeline linking Lebanon to the Deir Ammar power plant through the Dabousiyeh station in Syria was proceeding according to schedule.

"Converting the sector to natural gas is an important step because it reduces production costs and is significantly better environmentally than using fuel oil," Saddi said.

The minister explained that TGS had begun field work around two weeks earlier and that the current maintenance and rehabilitation phase would require approximately four additional weeks.

Once those works are completed, the pipeline will undergo a two-week testing and trial-operation phase to verify its safety and operational readiness.

On securing gas supplies, Saddi said contracts for the purchase of gas and its transit through Syria were in their final stages. He said the contracts would be referred to the board of Electricit© du Liban, as the purchasing entity, for a decision before being submitted to the Cabinet for final approval.

Saddi said the purpose of his visit was to verify on the ground that works were proceeding according to schedule, adding that implementation was moving as planned and expressing hope that the current works would be completed in around four weeks.

Regarding the source of the gas, Saddi said the project involves purchasing liquefied natural gas (LNG) in cooperation with Jordan and Syria through a joint procurement mechanism, or "pooling."

He explained that the gas would arrive in Aqaba and from there be transferred toward Syria, where a swap arrangement would be implemented in coordination with the Syrian side, allowing gas to reach the Deir Ammar power plant through the pipeline network.

According to Saddi, the two contracts to be referred to Electricit© du Liban's board concern, respectively, the purchase of gas and its transit and swap through Syria. He confirmed that the Syrian side had approved the proposed mechanism.

Saddi stressed that the immediate priority was to complete maintenance and rehabilitation of the pipeline within the specified timeframe, followed by the necessary tests ahead of operation.

Addressing encroachments on the gas pipeline right-of-way in some northern areas, the minister noted that several homes are located near the pipeline route. He said gas pipelines are subject to prescribed safety distances and that the issue of encroachments is being addressed as part of the pipeline rehabilitation works.

Separately, Saddi said he would hold a meeting in Tripoli with the city's MPs to discuss a comprehensive plan for Tripoli, while stressing that the primary focus of his current visit was the transition to natural gas and the operation of the gas pipeline.

Saddi later visited the Deir Ammar power plant, where he was received by plant director Engineer Tony Yacoub, along with senior officials and employees.

The minister toured the plant's various sections, reviewed the power-generation process and received a detailed briefing on operational and technical procedures, key needs and challenges, and the plant's readiness to operate on natural gas.

The visit formed part of Saddi's field assessment of the Deir Ammar plant and its operational status, given its central role in Lebanon's electricity-generation system and its expected transition to natural gas in the near future.