Gas supplies to Jordan from Egypt to resume within days

Jordan Times reported that gas supplies from Egypt are expected to resume within days as Egyptian teams make progress on repairing the Arab Gas Pipeline.

Mr Farouq Hiyari secretary general Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources said that officials expect the supply of the country's main energy source to resume by next week following positive repairs on the pipeline which was damaged on November 28th 2011 in the ninth act of sabotage on the line this year.

Sources at GASCO, one of two Egyptian firms that oversee the 400 kilometers pipeline that supplies natural gas to both Jordan and Israel confirmed that technical teams are expected to complete repairs by mid next week.

The Sinai blast the third attack in less than a month forced the Kingdom's power plants onto their heavy fuel oil and diesel reserves at a cost of some JD3 million per day.

It is unclear whether gas supplies will resume at their pre-attack levels of around 150 million cubic feet per day well short of the 300 million cubic feet required by the Kingdom's power plants to sustain electricity generation.

Ongoing disruptions in Egyptian gas supplies which Jordan relies on for 88% of its electricity needs have widened the budget deficit and pushed the national energy bill to record highs above JOD 1 billion.

The latest attack came amidst assurances from Egyptian authorities that an increased military presence combined with the recent arrest of a group of jihadists allegedly behind the series of attacks would secure gas supplies.

The disruptions have put an increased focus on the ministry's efforts to secure alternative sources of energy with ongoing talks with Iraqi and Qatari firms over the import of natural and liquid gas.

Officials said that despite the renewed push for new energy sources it will take at least 2 years for any potential deal to come into effect due to infrastructure requirements.

In line with efforts to secure additional sources of fossil fuels, Amman is embarking on a national energy strategy to boost the Kingdom's reliance on domestic energy sources from less than 1% to over 30% by the end of the decade.

Industry experts said that Jordan is likely to miss this strategic target, however, due to a lack of legislation and regulations an undue focus on nuclear power and a lack of political will.