Jordan seeks to import 130 to 150 million cubic feet (3.6 to 4.2 million cubic meters) of natural gas per day from the Gaza Strip, according to the minister of energy and mineral resources, Mohammad Hamed.
Jordan is expected to sign a deal with British Gas Group, the company which has the rights for developing natural gas fields offshore Gaza, the minister was quoted by AMEinfo as saying.
“Meetings will be held very soon between the two sides to discuss the details of the agreement,” Hamed said.
The deal will be signed between the British company and the National Electric Power Company (NEPCO), according to the minister, who stressed Jordan’s strategic need to diversify its sources of cheaper and cleaner gas as Egyptian supplies have stopped because the pipeline, which was bombed several times, has not yet been fixed.
“We need natural gas for power generation because it is much cheaper than the diesel and heavy fuel that we are currently using in the process,” said the minister, adding: “Although we will still rely on gas as it is a cheaper source of energy, we will go ahead with plans for shale oil and renewable energy projects.”
Jordan consumes about 500 million cubic feet of natural gas per day for the production of electricity, according to the minister. Demand on electricity rises by about six per cent annually in Jordan.
Jordan imports about 96 percent of its annual energy needs at a total cost of 20 per cent of gross domestic product.
