Lebanon launches new application for fuel pricing

Lebanon's Minister of Energy and Water in the caretaker government, Walid Fayad, launched "Lebanon Fuel Price," a new application for fuel pricing.

During a meeting in the presence of stakeholders in the sector, Fayyad said that the application includes the prices of 95-octane gasoline, 98-octane gasoline, diesel oil, and gas, pointing out that this step is a new and advanced stage of the fuel sector's march that started since the government assumed its duties in September 2021. 

He emphasized that the indirect support that was affecting the fuel sector in Lebanon by fixing the rate of the US dollar at LBP 1,500 made the treasury lose huge annual sums without necessarily targeting the poor and people with limited income, adding that after the exchange rate of the currency collapsed, the fuel subsidy to keep it below the high ceilings became very costly, emptying the country of hard currency. 

Fayad declared, "In light of this reality, we in the ministry started a process of gradually raising subsidies on fuel "dollars" until we reached the complete removal of this subsidy, and prices became directly linked to the global oil price on the one hand, and the price of the dollar in the market on the other hand." 

He explained that these measures saved more than 300 million US dollars a month from depleting the reserves of Banque du Liban and eliminated queues in front of gas stations, noting that the large fluctuations witnessed by the currency market and the rise or fall of the US dollar exchange rate had adverse effects on companies, distributors, gas stations, and citizen, which prompted the need to issue the prices several times a week, and then several times a day now. 

The Energy Minister also stressed that this matter led, after consulting with those concerned in the sector and after taking the opinion of the supervisory authorities in the state, such as the State Shura Council and others, they decided to prepare an easy and transparent electronic application that could be accessible to everyone, which simplifies pricing procedures for management through rapid response. 

This application helps companies, distributors, and stations to maintain their legal profit margin, and most importantly, it enables the citizen to see the prices directly and facilitates their affairs. 

He reaffirmed the commitment of the Ministry of Energy and Water to the principle of absolute transparency, whether in terms of openness and total cooperation with the judiciary or in terms of informing and involving public opinion in everything related to how pricing is issued for private generators through the ministry's website, or, as today, fuel pricing through the electronic application, Lebanon Fuel Price.