Jordan Time reported that an amended natural gas deal between Cairo and Amman has yet to be fully enforced, leaving Jordan with a fraction of the gas supplies outlined in the new agreement.
Mr Farouq Hiyari secretary general of Ministry of Energy said that the lack of enforcement of the amended deal has prevented the full resumption of gas supplies to Jordan which were disrupted by an attack on the Arab Gas Pipeline last month.
Amended gas prices which were reached between Cairo and the government of Marouf Bakhit in August have yet to be applied and have contributed to the delay.
Mr Abdallah Ghorab Egyptian Minister of Petrol said that the price of gas supplies is to increase up to 300% from the below market price of less than USD 2 per thousand cubic feet outlined in the previous 15 year agreement.
The amended agreement which calls for supply levels to reach 150 million cubic feet daily this year and 220 million cubic feet by 2012 is expected to be signed by the end of the month. It remains unclear whether the change in government in Amman would lead to a delay in the agreement's ratification.
A Sinai explosion last month severed gas supplies to Jordan and Israel, marking the sixth act of sabotage on the Arab Gas Pipeline since February and forcing the Kingdom's power stations onto their diesel and heavy oil reserves at a cost of some JOD 3 million per day.
Multiple cuts in gas supplies which Jordan relies on for 88 per cent of its electricity generation needs cost the Kingdom JOD 637 million in the H1 of the year and are expected to push the national energy bill to record highs well above JOD 4 billion.
The insecure supply has forced energy officials to explore alternatives to meet a five year gap ahead of the development of local energy resources such as oil shale, wind and nuclear power.
The ministry is currently preparing a tender for the construction of an offshore liquid gas terminal in the Port of Aqaba by 2013, receiving initial interest from several international firms including Royal Dutch Shell, British Petroleum, GDF Suez and Lemont and General Electric.
(Sourced from Jordan Times)
