Gas supplies to resume ‘next week’

Energy officials expect gas supplies to resume next week following the news of successful pipeline repairs by Egyptian teams.

The Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources anticipates the resumption of gas supplies, Jordan’s main energy source, which were disrupted on Thursday in what marked the seventh act of sabotage on the Arab Gas Pipeline in the Sinai Peninsula this year.

In a statement released late Tuesday, Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources Qutaiba Abu Qura said the Kingdom’s energy outlook is “stable” after Egyptian officials gave Amman assurances that pumping would resume within one week’s time.

GASCO, the Egyptian firm that oversees the 400-kilometre pipeline which serves both Jordan and Israel, confirmed that a technical team has made progress in repairs.

Egyptian officials insist that with heightened security along the pipeline, combined with authorities’ recent arrests of dozens of Sinai residents suspected in carrying out the series of attacks, gas supplies will be stable in the future.

According to reports by the Egyptian press, authorities believe that the attacks, carried out by a jihadist group with alleged ties to Al Qaeda, were designed to halt gas supplies to Israel.

Last week’s disruption forced the Kingdom’s power plants onto their fuel and heavy oil reserves, enough to power the country for 30 days, at a cost of some JD3 million per day.

Prior to the blast, Jordan’s supplies stood at 150 million cubic feet per day, a level that is to reach 220 million cubic feet early next year under an amended gas agreement between Amman and Cairo.

Under the amended deal, which was ratified by the Cabinet in August and is still pending Cairo’s approval, Egypt is to provide Jordan with additional quantities as compensation should supply lines be disrupted.

The new gas agreement, which brings an end to a favourable pricing structure under which Jordan received gas at less than half the international rate, is expected to raise gas prices from less than $2 to $6 per 1,000 cubic feet.