Beirut, (Reuters) – The first phase of repairs to the Arab Gas Pipeline should be completed by the end of February to allow delivery of Egyptian gas to Lebanon, Energy Minister Walid Fayad was quoted as saying in a Lebanese presidency statement on Wednesday. Under a U.S.-backed plan to help ease Lebanon’s power crisis, Egypt will supply natural gas to Lebanon via a pipeline passing through Jordan and Syria. You can read more about the plan

Asked by Reuters about when the gas itself might arrive, the minister said that “everything hinges on a U.S. clarification to Egypt that it will not be affected negatively by the Caesar Act,” referring to sweeping U.S. sanctions imposed on Syria that prohibit foreign companies from trading with Damascus. Reporting by Mahmoud Mourad; Additional reporting by Laila Bassam in Beirut; Writing by Lilian Wagdy; Editing by Jason Neely and Mark Porter Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.