AMMAN — An
official source at the
Ministry of Energy who spoke on condition of anonymity
told
Jordan News, addressed the controversy surrounding the stopping of
gas production at the Risha field, stressing that is not related to the gas
deal with Israel.
اضافة اعلان
“It is a
temporary halt caused by the end of the operational lifetime of the Risha
Electric Power Plant,” he said, an explanation reinforced by Assistant
Secretary-General of Energy Affairs at the Ministry of Energy and Minerals
Resources Hassan Al-Hiyari, who spoke to Al-Mamlaka TV.
The source said
that “extending the operational life of two gas units at the plant was
thoroughly considered by relevant partners in the sector, but this option
turned out to not be economically feasible due to the plant’s low efficiency
and the additional costs placed on the National Electric Power Company”.
According to him,
“stakeholders are currently considering all available options to resume natural
gas production in the field as soon as possible, in a way that serves the
public interest,”
Energy expert
Zuhair Sadeq, however, expressed doubt that the halt was due to the end of the
operational lifetime of turbines at the power plant, which is operated by the
National Electric Power Company (NEPCO),
telling
Jordan News that “the production at Risha field has been
halted in order to comply with the gas deal with Israel.”
“They can simply
carry out turbine maintenance and resume the work in the gas field,” he said.
Amer Shobaki,
economist and expert in the oil and energy field, told
Jordan News that
the operational life of a power plant — which is normally equivalent to that of
its turbines, and is estimated at 15 to 20 years — is usually known as soon as
it starts working, which makes the government’s justification “surprising”.
In the case of
the Risha plant, which started operations in 1989, several maintenance operations
were carried out.
“The decision”,
he said, “also confirms the short-sightedness of the government, which
underestimates the public’s intelligence”.
Shobaki said that
the Risha field was a main source of income for the National Petroleum Company
NPC, whose profits reached up to JD26 million annually.
According to him,
in addition to the losses to the country’s coffers, the halt of gas production
in the Risha field would have a negative impact on energy security, too.
The measure seems
to contradict Minister of Energy
Saleh Al Kharabsheh’s assessment. According to
MP Dirar Harasis, the minister told House representatives two months ago that
“the situation is promising” in regard to gas production in the country in
general.
In a statement on
Sunday, Hiyari said the Risha area is 370km away from the consumption areas,
and all available options are currently being studied in order to secure the
best economic feasibility of the field.
Read more Features
Jordan News
.jpg)
.jpg)
