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Syria Using Natural Gas To Strengthen Control Over Lebanon
June 11, 2002
Syria began energy exports to Lebanon in late May, according to Beirut-based Future News, sending the first batch of 2,000 tons of liquefied natural gas from the Mediterranean port of Banias, while a second batch of 3,000 tons was set to leave for Lebanon soon.
The problem here is that Syria does not have the facilities necessary to export liquefied natural gas (LNG). Doing so requires extensive cooling and collecting infrastructure with a price tag around $1 billion. The discrepancy likely is due to a bad translation of the news report, which really should have said that Syria is exporting liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), which the country does have the facilities to process. LPG is used throughout the Middle East as a cooking fuel, especially in areas with relatively modest infrastructures.
Lebanon imports virtually all of its energy, and despite its small size, it is one of the more vibrant economies in the Middle East. Exporting gas will send much-needed hard currency to Syrian coffers, but Damascus also has strategic reasons to become an energy supplier.
Both Egypt and Qatar have shown interest in supplying Lebanon with natural gas. Egypt could do so through a proposed pipeline that would run up the eastern side of the Mediterranean. And Qatar likely would send it in LNG form. Damascus could use the example of successful LPG exports to Lebanon to entice foreign investors to sponsor a Syrian natural gas pipeline to Lebanon.
But most important, energy ties are one more way that Syria can augment its control over Lebanon. Creating a dependency, especially in a vital field like energy, also creates influence. Syria has long kept control over Lebanon through political alliances and military occupation. But over the last few years, those particular tactics have met with compounding Lebanese resistance, which has ranged from political opposition to protests to small-scale bombings.
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(c) 2002 Stratfor, Inc.
Dan
Syria Using Natural Gas To Strengthen Control Over Lebanon . . .