Clarification from the Ministry of Energy and Water regarding the Iraqi grant

Issued by the Media Office of the Ministry of Energy and Water, the following statement:

"The newspaper 'Al-Akhbar' published on 22/5/2026 an article titled 'The Council of Ministers is a False Witness: The Iraqi Fuel Oil Grant as a Model,' full of fallacies, fabrications, defamation, and falsification. Therefore, to prevent misleading the Lebanese, we clarify the following:

First: The Iraqi grant is placed in a special tank at the installations under the supervision of a monitoring company and inspected by Customs. Consequently, it has not been disposed of until an order is issued through a decree accepting the grant from the Council of Ministers, contrary to what the newspaper 'Al-Akhbar' falsely claims.

Second: According to its specifications, the Iraqi grant material is not diesel oil and is not suitable for use in the facilities of the Electricité du Liban institution because its specifications do not match those approved by the institution. It is fuel oil gas, and therefore it must be consumed in factories and furnaces.

Third: This grant is not red fuel oil as the newspaper claimed, and fundamentally, red fuel oil is not unloaded at the installations. To the newspaper's misfortune, its color is not red but rather closer to yellow.

Fourth: What the Zahrani oil installations initiated selling for two days over two weeks were quantities of green diesel oil material, with the aim of liquidating the goods into money deposited in the installations' account at the Banque du Liban to enable them to continue their investment role and purchase ships.

Fifth: Reducing the sale price of these goods is a competitive necessity for the requirements of selling the goods, which we confirm are from the fuel oil approved in the market, amounting to 6 million liters, while the entire quantity of the Iraqi grant does not exceed 940 thousand liters. Moreover, a discount on the price was applied in accordance with what the law permits for market competition and to facilitate the disposal of the existing quantity. Accordingly, the installations were at that time the largest seller in the market.

Sixth: The fuel price schedule issued by the Ministry of Energy sets the maximum ceiling for sales but does not prevent discounts on prices.

Seventh: The limited quantity will not provide financial weight for the installations, and it is not their property. Therefore, the proceeds from its sale go to the entity determined by the Council of Ministers to serve the displaced.

Eighth: The limited quantity, not exceeding 940 thousand liters, will not be a conduit for any environmental pollution.

In conclusion, the Ministry regrets the newspaper's deliberate repetition of publishing false news without contacting the Ministry to verify the accuracy of the information or lack thereof, according to the most basic professional rules."