Natural Gas From Israel to Jordan in 2020 - ALBAWABA

July 6, 2018 - 07:30 GMT

Work is under way to construct a pipeline to transfer $10 billion worth of natural gas from Israel into Jordan, with supplies expected to begin in 2020, said a government official.

Contractors are currently working on building a 65-kilometre pipeline that stretches from the Kingdom’s borders with Israel in the north to Mafraq Governorate.

The pipeline, once completed, will be connected to the gas pipeline in Mafraq, and gas will later be distributed to the country's power plants for generation of electricity, Abdel Fattah Daradkeh, director general of the National Electric Power Company (NEPCO), told The Jordan Times in an interview this week.

“The pipeline will be completed by the end of 2019 and we were informed by Noble Energy that gas will start flowing to Jordan in early 2020,” the official added.

Work is also ongoing to build a pipeline on the Israeli side to transfer the gas to Jordan, he added.

Jordan is Key Player in Israel's Energy Equation in Region - ALBAWABA NEWS

May 17th, 2018 - 18:00 GMT

Jordan is a key player in Israel's energy equation in the region as it could either make or break the Jordan-Israeli gas sales and purchase agreement that is vital to Israel's success as a regional energy player, according to the director of hydrocarbons at the Paris-based Mediterranean Energy Observatory (OME).

In September 2016, U.S.' Noble Energy, the operator of Israel's Leviathan gas field, signed a gas sales and purchase agreement with Jordan's National Electric Power Company Ltd. (NEPCO) to sell approximately three billion cubic meters of natural gas over a 15-year term.

"If Jordan cancels the gas deal signed with Israel following Israel's brutality in the Gaza Strip, there is no place for its gas to go, therefore, Israel can suffer huge losses in terms of energy income," Director Sohbet Karbuz told Anadolu Agency in an exclusive interview.

The deal in September 2016 was agreed despite widespread disapproval in Jordan for the purchase of Israel's energy. The past two years saw a number of popular demonstrations in Jordan's capital Amman against the proposed import of gas from the Jewish state.

Karbuz explained that Jordan is the most important market that these companies rely on to recover the billions of dollars of investments that these companies have made.

BP, Eni confirm new 'significant' gas discovery in Egypt's Mediterranean - ALBAWABA / AHRAM ONLINE

Published June 12th, 2016 - 05:26 GMT

British oil company BP and Italy's Eni announced a "significant" gas discovery off the coast of Egypt on Thursday.

The new discovery in Baltim South West area is jointly owned by both companies, Eni said in a press release on Thursday.

The Baltim South West well is located 12 kilometres from the coast, 25 metres deep, and 10 kilometres north of the Nooros field.

"Baltim South West discovery further confirms the significant potential of the so called “Great Nooros Area”, which is now estimated to hold 70-80 billion cubic metres of gas in place," read Eni's statement.

Leviathan gas deal down to the wire ahead of BG-Shell merger vote - ALBAWABA

The gas export deal is under threat due to the ambivalence
of Shell shareholders. (File photo)

January 25, 2016 via SyndiGate.info
Shareholders will vote this week on Shell's takeover bid for BG, which operates the LNG plant at Idku.

The partners in the Leviathan gas reserve need to act fast if they want exports to Egypt to go ahead. Unless an agreement is signed within the next few days with BG, such an agreement is liable to be delayed substantially, at best, or, at worst, to disappear from the agenda. The reason is that BG and Royal Dutch Shell shareholders are due to vote this week on the takeover of the former by the latter. Shell, which operates in Qatar and may do so in Iran as well, will think twice before signing a deal in Israel.

After gas discovery, Egypt aims for energy self-sufficiency by 2022 | Albawaba Business

November 17, 2015

Egypt's two newly discovered oil fields, Zohr and North Alexandria, which will start production in 2017, will help make Egypt a regional center for energy and gas, Egyptian Petroleum Minister Tareq el Molla said.

Egypt hopes to achieve self-sufficiency in the period between 2020 and 2022 and to decline imports and become a regional energy center, Molla told MENA correspondent here prior to his departure.

The "Zohr" field will start production in the end of 2017 from 700 million to 1,000 million cubic feet daily to rise to 2,700 cubic feet daily in 2019, the minister said.

Egypt imports liquefied natural gas to fill its shortage over the past two years, he said, adding that factories that have stopped production due to gas shortage started operation, including fertilizer, steel and petrochemical plants.

Another field was discovered in northern Alexandria and will start production in mid 2017 with 450 million cubic feet daily to reach 1.2 billion cubic feet daily in 2019, he added.

Will passing gas ease Israel's tensions with Egypt and Turkey? - ALBAWABA NEWS

April 16, 2014 - 23:02 GMT

Israel's drive to export its new-found natural gas could help to rebuild strained ties with old regional allies Egypt and Turkey, but could deprive Europe of a precious alternative to Russian gas.

Israel has in recent months already signed energy deals with Jordan’s Arab Potash Company and the Palestinian Authority, though relations with the Palestinians are at a low ebb, and now needs to expand its export horizons to cash in on its huge energy discoveries.

If all goes well, the latest developments could see first pipelines being laid between Israel and Turkey as soon as 2015, and gas cooperation between Israel and Egypt is also emerging, which would allow export access to Asia's major markets.

A growing population and soaring demand have left Egypt's own liquefied natural gas export (LNG) plants in need of new supply, as domestic shortages eat into seaborne exports through the Suez Canal to the world's most lucrative market in Asia.