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 JORDAN
Mediterranean
Jordan managed minor oil production in the late 1980s but
is currently producing no oil. A number of exploration blocks have been
licensed by ambitious small companies but the geology suggests that no
significant oil reserves can be expected.
Jordan has produced some gas from the small Risha field
since 1989 but output is not expected to grow much beyond current levels
even though a gas field was discovered close to Iraq in 1999. The Risha
field provides around 15% of the country’s energy consumption and plans
are to increase production from here as well as import gas from Egypt.
 A gas pipeline was inaugurated between Egypt and Jordan
in July 2003, followed in early 2004 by an agreement to expand that line
from Aqaba in the South to Northern Amman, and subsequently to Syria and
Lebanon, and ultimately to Cyprus, Turkey and Europe.
After the cessation of oil imports from Iraq following
the regime change in Baghdad in 2003 the Ministry of Energy & Mineral
Resources (MEMR) has imported oil from Saudi Arabia. However in the
longer term Jordan would like to be supplied through pipelines from
neighbouring countries, pumping either Saudi or Iraqi crude.
The Jordanian government has launched a campaign for
privatising its power sector in order to expand capacity and MEMR has
been encouraging the conversion of its power generating units and other
energy fuelled industrial plants to natural gas.
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