AMMAN —
Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources
Saleh Al-Kharabsheh said that Jordan
has reached agreements on diversifying sources of natural gas, and long-term
natural gas supplies, Al-Ghad News reported.
اضافة اعلان
He said that
current supply contracts saved the treasury $1.2 billion during the first nine
months of this year.
The comments came
in a lecture on Tuesday to students in the 20th National Defense Course at the
Royal Jordanian National Defense College, entitled: “The Energy Sector Strategy
for the years 2020–2030”.
The lecture was
attended by the college’s commander, Brig. Gen. Azzam Al-Rawahneh, and the head
and members of the steering committee.
The minister
stressed that the policy of diversifying the sources of natural gas supplies,
and the long-term natural gas supply agreements protect the National Electric
Power Company from raising global LNG
prices.
On the ministry’s
role in promoting local energy sources in the total energy mix, Kharabsheh said
that Jordan is one of the leading countries in the development of renewable
energy in the region, as it currently produces about 29 percent of the
electricity generated in the country from renewable energy sources, and seeks
to reach 50 percent by 2030.
He explained that
the total installed capacity of electric power generation projects from
renewable energy sources amounted to about 2,526 megawatts at the end of last
July, contributing to 29 percent of the electrical energy generated since the
beginning of 2022, compared with about 26 percent during 2021.
Kharabsheh pointed
out that the energy generated from the total installed capacity of renewable
energy projects amounted to 5.5TWh at the end of 2021, and thus Jordan ranks
first in the Arab world in the ratio of the installed capacity of renewable
energy sources without calculating hydropower, and third after
Egypt and
Morocco in the amount of produced energy.
He stressed that
the Ministry of Energy’s endeavor is to increase this share to 50 percent by
2030, and for Jordan to become a regional center for green energy production by
taking advantage of the abundance of renewable energy sources, and Jordan’s
central location in the Middle East.
He said that the
Ministry of Energy’s direction for the coming period includes realizing the
natural gas distribution project in major cities, and distributing about 90,000
solar heaters, indicating that this direction also includes improving the
efficiency of energy consumption in all sectors by 9 percent.
With regard to oil
exploration in the Sarhan field, Kharabsheh said that a Saudi-American
consortium has submitted proposals to work in the field, and a memorandum of
understanding will be signed after obtaining the necessary approvals.
He maintained that
work is underway to drill three new wells, purchase an advanced excavator, and
process and analyze seismic surveys.
Regarding work in
the Hamza oil field, Kharabsheh said that work is underway to develop the field
by drilling three new wells, developing a dynamic model for data analysis to
determine the reserves, in addition to reprocessing three-dimensional seismic
surveys, preparing geological and geophysical studies and identifying new
drilling sites.
On gas exploration,
he said that efforts are continuing to develop the Risha gas field by raising
the capacity from the current 30 million cubic feet to about 50 million cubic
feet in 2025, and reaching a production capacity of about 200 million cubic
feet per day in 2030.
On marketing gas
produced from the Risha field, Kharabsheh said that several companies have
submitted letters of intent, expressing their interest to invest in the
distribution of compressed natural gas and liquefied natural gas.
He pointed out that
the Ministry of Energy is currently studying the activity of distributing
compressed natural gas and liquefied natural gas, and determining the fair
commission for interested companies. By investing in compressed, and liquefied
gas distribution activities, it is expected that the study will be completed in
the near future.
On the development
of the oil and gas derivatives’ market, he said that necessary procedures have
been undertaken to pave the way for licensing two new marketing companies,
while a study is underway to establish a specialized Jordanian natural gas
company that will be responsible for natural gas contracts from
NEPCO, and is
preparing regulatory rules that allow the third party to use the structure.
On supplying
industries with gas, Kharabsheh said that a mechanism was agreed upon to
implement the infrastructure required to deliver natural gas to industries from
the main natural gas pipeline to the factory site through direct contracting
between the final consumer and contractors.
On domestic gas, he
said that a study is currently underway to map out a national program in
cooperation with the
Ministry of Finance to support the delivery of natural gas
to cities and industrial clusters, and an economic feasibility study is being
conducted for a project to establish natural gas distribution networks in Amman
and Zarqa.
He said that the
Ministry of Energy is currently reviewing oil and natural gas legislation, as
the priority of its work is the initiative to “review the pricing mechanism of
petroleum derivatives to encourage a healthy environment for markets, including
setting price ceilings and providing opportunities for competition in the
market.”
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