Prime Minister Ali Abul Ragheb on Monday discussed with the visiting Egyptian petroleum minister, Sameh Fahmi, prospects for Jordan's importing gas from Egypt.
Mineral Resources Minister Wael Sabri said Jordan's annual requirement of gas ranges from 2-3 billion cubic meters.
Fahmi and Sabri had discussed Jordan's proposal of laying a pipeline to supply Egyptian gas to Jordan at Sheikh Zweid east of the town of Arish in Sinai to Aqaba.
The Egyptian minister promised to discuss the idea and inform Jordan of the result within three months.
The two sides said the questions of financing and operating the project would also be studied by the Egyptian side before meetings to finalize an agreement could be held.
Jordan produces limited amounts of gas from the Risheh gas field near the common border with Iraq, but it imports all of its crude oil needs from Iraq which, according to an agreement reached late last month, will supply the Kingdom with five million tones of crude in the coming year.
Half of the Iraqi oil is supplied free-of-charge and the rest is to be paid at concessionary rates.
According to a preliminary agreement reached by the two sides during Abul Ragheb's visit to Baghdad in November, the two sides will build a 750-kilometre pipeline to draw crude oil from the Iraqi oil fields to the Jordan Petroleum Refinery Company in Zarqa.
During yesterday's meeting with Sabri, Fahmi briefed his Jordanian counterpart on Cairo's memoranda of understanding concerning Egypt's planned supply of gas to Lebanon and Syria by building a joint submarine cable network to transport and market Egyptian gas in the two countries, as well as Turkey and some European countries in the future.
It was agreed that Jordan would study the prospect of joining the three countries involved in the network.
( Jordan Times )
© 2000 Mena Report (www.menareport.com)
