Egyptian Natural Gas Exports to Jordan to Be Resumed Within 48 Hours

The Egyptian-Jordanian Fajr for Natural Gas Transport and Supply Company said that the export of Egyptian natural gas "will be resumed to Jordan within 48 hours and in the same quantities agreed upon earlier," according to the Jordanian state-funded Al-Mamlaka (The Kingdom) TV channel.

The flow of Egyptian natural gas to Jordan was halted six days ago, the Egyptian-Jordanian joint venture said.

The general manager of the Jordanian National Electricity Company, Amjad Al-Rawashdah, said in press statements that the interruption of Egyptian gas during the past few days was "purely due to technical reasons."

Jamal Qmoh, rapporteur of the Energy Parliamentary Committee in Jordan, was quoted by Sputnik News Agency as saying, "Egypt provides Jordan with daily quantities ranging from 35 to 70 million cubic feet of natural gas."

"Jordan depends on Egyptian gas for 15 percent its electricity, which is a small percentage. We seek to raise this percentage, but the issue is related to cost," the Jordanian PM said.

Jordan suffered great losses due to the interruption of Egyptian gas imports, a cost of 3 to 4 million dinars daily, Qmoh said.

The flow of Egyptian natural gas to Jordan was returned in trial quantities in September 2018 after repeated stoppages since 2011 due to attacks on the pipeline that linked the two countries.

In April 2019, after the nine-year halt, the two countries signed a memorandum of understanding according to which Jordan resumed purchasing and selling natural gas with Egypt.

As per the signed agreement, Egyptian gas supplies were planned to be increased to cover 50 percent of Jordan’s natural gas needs instead of only 10 percent in 2018.