Lebanon, Egypt and Syria on Tuesday signed an agreement to import Egyptian gas for a power plant in northern Lebanon through Syria, AP reported.

The deal will boost much-needed electricity supplies to Lebanon, which is suffering from a severe energy crisis.

The agreement has yet to be signed by the World Bank, which must finance the process. In addition, U.S. guarantees are needed that the countries involved will not be the target of U.S. sanctions imposed on Syria, said Lebanese Energy Minister Walid Fayad.

Egypt has agreed to supply Lebanon with natural gas for its power plants via Jordan and Syria. Syrian and Lebanese specialists have completed repair work on the pipeline, which has been ready for months.

Fayad said the pipeline will bring about 650 million cubic meters (22.95 billion cubic feet) of gas annually to Lebanon for the Deir Ammar power plant in the north. He added that this amount would generate 450 megawatts of electricity, which would add four hours of power a day.