Fuel Prices in Lebanon: How the Ministry Sets Them
In Lebanon you don't need to compare petrol stations to know what fuel should cost. The price of gasoline, diesel and household gas is set by the state, in an official table that changes about twice a week. Today the 20-litre tank of 95-octane gasoline is 2,391,000 LBP, 98-octane is 2,409,000 LBP, diesel is 2,524,000 LBP and a gas cylinder is 1,640,000 LBP. This guide covers where those numbers come from, what pushes them up or down, and how to read a new table when it comes out.
Who sets the price
The Ministry of Energy and Water, through its Directorate General of Oil, publishes the official fuel price table, known in Arabic as «جدول تركيب الأسعار» (the price structure table). It sets the official retail price that stations and distributors are expected to follow.
The table is usually issued twice a week, on Tuesday and Friday, early in the morning. Occasionally it comes on another day, for example after a change in fees. The National News Agency (NNA) publishes each table as soon as it is out, and news sites carry it within minutes. The ministry's own website also posts it, sometimes later.
What's in the table
| Product | Unit | Local name |
|---|---|---|
| Gasoline 95 octane | 20 litres | صفيحة بنزين 95 (the "tanaka") |
| Gasoline 98 octane | 20 litres | صفيحة بنزين 98 |
| Diesel (for vehicles) | 20 litres | صفيحة مازوت |
| Household gas | one 10 kg cylinder | قارورة الغاز |
| Fuel oil for generators | 1,000 litres, in USD | مازوت (للمولدات) |
Prices are in Lebanese pounds. The 20-litre unit is a leftover from the days when fuel was sold by the tin. Stations still post their prices per 20 litres, even though nobody buys a tin any more.
The table also states the dollar rate it uses to convert dollar costs into lira.
What moves the price
The table is built from the cost of bringing fuel to Lebanon plus fixed fees and margins. The main moving parts are:
- International product prices. Lebanon imports refined gasoline, diesel and gas, so the table follows the world price of those products, which in turn tracks crude oil benchmarks such as Brent. When Brent rises over several days, expect the next tables to rise.
- Shipping and insurance. Freight costs to the eastern Mediterranean feed into the import cost.
- The dollar rate. Import costs are in dollars and retail prices are in lira, so the conversion rate matters. With the market rate stable since 2023, this factor has moved little.
- Fees and taxes. Government fees and VAT are part of the structure. When the state adds, suspends or changes a fee, the table moves even if world prices don't.
- Distributor and station margins. They are part of the structure, so a change to them also moves the table.
Because the table follows world prices with a lag of a few days, a sharp move in oil usually shows up over the next one or two tables, not on the same day.
How to read a change
Each new table is reported as a change from the previous one, usually in tens of thousands of lira per 20 litres. To judge a change:
- Look at the size relative to the price. A move of 20,000 LBP on a tank that costs over two million is under 1%.
- Look at the direction across products. If 95, 98 and diesel all rise together, world prices drove it. If only gas moves, look at the gas market or a fee change.
- Look at the trend, not one table. Two small rises and one small fall over a week are noise. Our fuel page shows the previous tables so you can see the trend.
Worked example: filling up
Suppose the table puts the 95-octane tank at 2,400,000 LBP (example) and your car takes 45 litres.
- Price per litre: 2,400,000 ÷ 20 = 120,000 LBP
- Cost of 45 litres: 45 × 120,000 = 5,400,000 LBP
- In dollars at an example rate of 89,500: 5,400,000 ÷ 89,500 ≈ $60.34
If the next table adds 30,000 LBP per tank, the litre goes up by 1,500 LBP and your 45-litre fill by 67,500 LBP, about 75 cents.
Worked example: the gas cylinder
A household that uses one 10 kg cylinder every three weeks uses about 17 cylinders a year. A change of 20,000 LBP per cylinder adds about 340,000 LBP a year, under $4 at an example rate of 89,500.
Worked example: diesel and your generator bill
Diesel matters even if you don't drive a diesel car. The ministry's monthly generator tariff is calculated from the month's average diesel price. A run of rising diesel tables usually means a higher kWh price for generator subscribers the following month. Our guide on how to calculate your generator bill explains the link.
Can a station charge more?
The table is the official price. A station that charges more than it is not following the table. Check the date of the table on our fuel page first: right after a new table is published, some stations take a little while to update their boards. If a station keeps charging above the current table, consumer complaints go to the Ministry of Economy and Trade's consumer protection directorate (hotline 1739).
How we track fuel prices
We read the official table as published by NNA and confirm it against other news sites that carry the same table. The ministry's website serves as a backup when no other source has a fresh table. A newer table can never be replaced by an older one, so you won't see the price jump back and forth when a site is late. We check from 06:00 and then every 30 minutes from 07:00 to 22:00 Beirut time, so a Tuesday or Friday table usually appears on our page within an hour of NNA posting it. Full details are on our methodology page.
Quick answers
Why 20 litres? It is the traditional unit (a tin), and the ministry still uses it.
Why do two stations show different prices on the same day? One of them hasn't updated to the latest table yet. The current table date is shown on our fuel page.
Does the dollar rate still matter? Less than before 2023. With the market stable around 89,500, almost all recent changes come from world fuel prices and fees.