Political instability and conflict curtailed petroleum exploration in the 1970s and 1980s. In early 1991 natural gas discoveries near El-Marq encouraged further exploration.
A refinery at Tripoli satisfies only about 15% of domestic demand; imports from Syria, Romania, Bulgaria, Greece, and Italy meet the remaining demand for petroleum products.
Italian, French, and Korean firms have been contracted to rehabilitate power stations, install transmission networks, and distribute electricity outside greater Beirut. Lebanon's largest hydroelectric plants are on the Litani River. In 2001, total installed electrical capacity was about 1,323,000 kW. Production in 2000 totaled 7,200 million kWh, of which 96.9% was from fossil fuels and 3.1% from hydropower. Consumption of electricity in 2000 was 8.6 billion kWh.
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