📰 5 sources 13 articles · 19 Oct 2026, 17:21 → 24 days ago

Qatari plan to revive Lebanon's electricity: two gas plants and a 20-year gas deal

A document seen by Reuters revealed a Qatari plan to develop Lebanon's electricity sector under what is known as the "Integrated National Program for Investment in Energy", including building two combined-cycle gas plants in Deir Ammar and Zahrani at 825 MW each, and a 20-year liquefied natural gas supply agreement between QatarEnergy and Lebanon. The plan also includes solar and wind projects and electricity imports from Syria, with implementation possibly taking three years if approvals are issued quickly. The plan comes amid repeated Qatari affirmations of continued support for Lebanon's energy sector.

📍 Where things stand: The plan remains a proposal laid out in a document seen by Reuters, with no final approvals or official implementation timetable announced, while Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam said Lebanon and Qatar have come close to a joint build-operate-transfer project.

⏱️ Timeline

19 Oct 2026, 17:21 Reuters reported in an exclusive that Qatar intends to build two power generation plants in Lebanon, a step related to Lebanon's chronically struggling electricity sector, without details on the sites, capacity or implementation timetable.
19 Oct 2026, 17:48 Reuters, citing a document it viewed, reported that Qatar plans to build two power plants in Lebanon with a capacity of 825 MW each, alongside a 20-year LNG supply agreement.
19 Oct 2026, 17:51 Reuters said the document it viewed specifies the two new plant sites in Deir Ammar and Zahrani, within a Qatari plan to revive the electricity sector that also includes importing LNG over 20 years.
19 Oct 2026, 17:53 Reuters, citing the document, reported that the Qatari plan to supply Lebanon with electricity includes importing power from Syria, with the first phase starting with 300 MW drawn through two separate routes.
19 Oct 2026, 17:56 Reuters, citing the document, said implementing the proposed Qatari plan for Lebanon's electricity sector could take three years if the necessary approvals are issued quickly.
19 Oct 2026, 18:03 Reports citing the Reuters document said the plan includes 800 MW of solar power and 440 MW of wind power alongside the two gas plants of 825 MW each and electricity imports from Syria, in a program that could take three years to implement if approvals are issued quickly.
19 Oct 2026, 23:28 Al Jazeera reported that Qatar intends to build two plants with a total capacity of 1650 MW, 825 MW each, in Deir Ammar in northern Lebanon and Zahrani in the south, alongside a 20-year LNG supply agreement between QatarEnergy and Lebanon, within the "Integrated National Program for Investment in Energy" aimed at addressing the chronic electricity crisis without prior capital spending from the Lebanese budget.
19 Oct 2026, 23:38 Al Jazeera reported that the two plants will be combined-cycle, with a floating storage and regasification unit, in a plan that also includes renewable energy projects and electricity imports from Syria.
20 Oct 2026, 11:56 An-Nahar reported that the proposed Qatari plan, known as the "Integrated National Program for Investment in Energy", includes two combined-cycle gas plants in Deir Ammar and Zahrani at 825 MW each, solar and wind projects, the import of 300 MW from Syria, and a 20-year LNG supply agreement, noting that the targeted new generation capacity is about 3000 MW.
20 Oct 2026, 14:04 An-Nahar analysis considered that the Qatari prime minister and foreign minister's affirmation of his country's continued support for Lebanon, especially in energy and infrastructure, represents an opportunity to address the stifling electricity crisis, noting that the collapse of the official sector deepened reliance on private generators, and calling for a transparent plan, reforms and accountability.
20 Oct 2026, 16:13 Monte Carlo International reported that the plan includes a floating storage and regasification unit with a capacity of 3.5 million cubic meters per day and use of the Arab Gas Pipeline, alongside the two gas plants of 825 MW each and the 20-year LNG supply agreement between QatarEnergy and Lebanon.
20 Oct 2026, 16:23 Al Jazeera reported that Qatari Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani discussed ways to strengthen cooperation with the Lebanese leadership in Beirut on 16 October 2026, affirming Qatar's continued support for Lebanon's sovereignty, unity, stability, institutions and army, and that Prime Minister Nawaf Salam announced Lebanon and Qatar had come close to a joint project to develop power generation on a build-operate-transfer (BOT) basis.

Timeline written by AI from the sources below; updated as new reports arrive.

How the sources covered it

Reuters, Lebanon Debate and Monte Carlo International focused on the document's technical details and figures (capacity, sites, implementation period, the regasification unit and the Arab Gas Pipeline), while Al Jazeera and An-Nahar placed the plan in its political and economic context, citing the Integrated National Program, about 3000 MW, official Qatari support, the Beirut meeting, the BOT project and calls for reforms and transparency.

Reuters It led with a brief exclusive on Qatar's intention to build two plants without details, then gradually added data from the document it viewed: 825 MW per plant, the two sites, the 20-year gas deal, the 300 MW import from Syria and a three-year implementation period.
lebanon debate It focused on breaking the document down into separate elements: each plant's capacity, the two sites, the first phase of imports from Syria through two routes, the three-year implementation period and the solar and wind projects.
الجزيرة نت It highlighted the 1650 MW total capacity, the name "Integrated National Program for Investment in Energy", the absence of prior capital spending from the Lebanese budget and the floating storage and regasification unit, and also covered Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani's meeting with the Lebanese leadership in Beirut on 16 October and Nawaf Salam's statement on the near BOT project.
annahar.com It presented the plan within its programmatic framework and the targeted new generation capacity of about 3000 MW, and added analysis linking Qatari support to addressing the electricity crisis and reliance on private generators, with emphasis on transparency, reforms and accountability.
مونت كارلو الدولية It emphasized technical details: a floating storage and regasification unit with a capacity of 3.5 million cubic meters per day and use of the Arab Gas Pipeline, alongside the basic figures for the two plants and the 20-year gas agreement.