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 pipeline for Israeli gas set for completion by end of 2019 - WORLD OIL / BLOOMBERG

JULY/4/2018
Mohammad Tayseer, Yaacov Benmeleh

TEL AVIV (Bloomberg) -- A pipeline to transport $10 billion worth of natural gas over 15 years from Israel’s Leviathan field into Jordan will be completed by the end of 2019, according to the company buying the fuel.

Engineers building a 65-km (40-mi) pipeline from Jordan’s border with Israel northward across Mafraq province will finish their work on time to receive first gas from Leviathan at the start of 2020, Abdel Fattah Daradkeh, director general of Jordan’s National Electric Power Co., said in a phone interview. A section of pipeline to move gas from the offshore field through Israel to the border is also under construction, he said.

After years of legal and regulatory logjams, the companies developing Leviathan are making significant progress to honor multi-billion-dollar export deals. About 54% of the nearly $4-billion Leviathan project has been completed, the companies said this week. Jordan, with negligible energy resources of its own, would become Israel’s first buyer for gas from the Mediterranean reservoir.

Jordan allocates initial $2 million for joint pipeline project with Israel - MIDDLE EAST MONITOR

January 2, 2018 at 3:07 am

The gas will mostly be coming from the offshore Leviathan natural gas field, being developed off the coast of Haifa

Jordan has allocated 1.5 million dinars (around $2.1 million) in the 2018 national budget for a gas pipeline linking the Hashemite Kingdom with Israel. According to Al-Ghad newspaper on Sunday, the cost of the joint Jordanian-Israeli project is expected to rise to 3 million dinars ($4.2 million) in 2019, and to 6 million dinars ($8.5 million) by 2020. The pipeline will pass over the Sheikh Hussein border crossing, 90 km from Amman.

In September 2016, Jordan’s government-owned National Electric Power Company (NEPCO) and Noble Energy signed an agreement to import 40 per cent of the Kingdom’s electricity-generating needs from Israel. Noble Energy owns 39 per cent of the Leviathan natural gas field in Israeli territorial waters.

Unwanted: The $10 Billion Gas Deal With Israel That Jordan Needs - BLOOMBERG

October 27, 2016 — 2:01 AM EEST
Donna Abu-Nasr

• Regular street protests held to condemn import agreement
• Jordan shows there’s still resistance to closer economic ties

For one hour every Sunday, Alaa Wishah and his family sit at home in the dark.

The pharmacist in Jordan’s capital of Amman isn’t trying to save money. Wishah, his wife and their three children are joining the protest against a $10 billion energy import agreement with Israel that has revived old animosities in this part of the world.

"Even if the alternatives are harder and more expensive, we don’t want to get gas from the Zionist entity," said Wishah, 40. "It’s not theirs; it belongs to the Palestinians."

Jordan presses Israel for concessions - FINANCIAL TIMES

Amman seek to mitigate backlash against Leviathan deal
25.09.2016 by John Reed in Amman

Jordan is pressing Israel for trade and financial concessions before it signs off on a groundbreaking but politically sensitive multibillion-dollar agreement to buy gas from the offshore Leviathan field, a Jordanian government minister said.

Jordan signed a letter of intent in 2014 to import some 1.6 trillion cubic feet from Leviathan, located off Haifa, over 15 years for its National Electric Power Co in a deal valued at some $15bn at the time.

Investors in the Leviathan consortium, led by Houston-based Noble Energy and Israel’s Delek, are touting the proposed deal, along with plans to sell the offshore field’s gas to Egypt, as a geopolitical game-changer that would help to transform Israel’s fraught relations with its Arab neighbours.

Eastern Med operators mull viability of LNG, CNG, pipeline proposals | Hydrocarbon Processing

03.11.2014

A panel discussion focused on opportunities available in the Eastern Mediterranean, including those for liquefied natural gas (LNG) exports and for floating LNG, compressed natural gas and pipeline projects.

By ADRIENNE BLUME, Managing Editor

TEL AVIV, Israel -- Following a bountiful Mediterranean lunch served at the Hilton Tel Aviv, Day 1 of the EMGC 2014 conference resumed with several presentations and a panel discussion on the opportunities available in the Eastern Mediterranean, including those for liquefied natural gas (LNG) exports and for floating LNG, compressed natural gas (CNG) and pipeline projects.

Israel: Regional Deals Amid Shaky Politics | Natural Gas Europe

February 25th, 2014 12:05am

Texas-based Noble Energy announced¹ on 19 February the signing of gas agreements with Jordanian companies. Noble will supply natural gas from the Tamar field to Arab Potash and Jordan Bromine for use in their facilities near the Dead Sea. Sales are expected to commence in 2016, date that coincides with the expected completion of initial infrastructure work on the pipeline that will connect Israel to Jordan. According to Noble's press release, the price will have a floor of at least USD6.5 per thousand cubic feet of natural gas with an upside linked to Brent crude oil prices. The American giant expects gross revenues to reach USD500 million and actual sales to vary according to the quantities of natural gas purchased and oil prices at the time of sale. Noble Energy operates Tamar with a 36% working interest. Other partners in the estimated 10 Tcf Tamar include Isramco Negev 2 with a 28.75% working interest, Delek which holds 15.625%, Avner with 15.625% and Dor Gas Exploration which holds 4%.

Israel-Jordan sign $500 million natural gas deal | The Times of Israel

Accord may grow into $30-billion partnership for Israel to become Jordan’s main supplier; deal with Turkey also possible

By Times of Israel staff and Yifa Yaakov February 19, 2014, 9:43 pm 

Workers on the Israeli Tamar gas processing rig, 24 kilometers off the southern coast of Ashkelon, October 11, 2013 (photo crdit: Moshe Shai/Flash90)

Israeli and Jordanian officials signed a deal Wednesday under which Israel will supply $500 million worth of gas to the Hashemite kingdom from the Tamar natural gas field in the Mediterranean.

The supply is set to start in 2016, and to continue over a 15-year period. Ultimately, however, the deal may be expanded to a $30-billion mammoth partnership, under which Israel would become the major supplier of Jordan’s gas needs, Israel’s Channel 2 news reported.

Leviathan and Tamar Competing Over the Jordanian Market | Natural Gas Europe

January 28th, 2014 

The building of a pipeline from Israel to Jordan turned out to be more than just a rumor. The 15 kilometer pipeline expected to be fully constructed by 2016 will allow Israel to supply natural gas to a thirsty neighboring Kingdom. The two countries are currently discussing the final terms of an agreement that would allow such a natural gas trade. Jordan is looking to receive 2.5 billion to 3 billion cubic meters of gas a year.

Exporting to immediate neighbor Jordan is a simple endeavor for Israel given the proximity of the two countries and the low cost infrastructure required. Jordan and Israel both share a same history of natural gas reliance on Egypt. While Israel suffered from a complete cut of natural gas supplies from Egypt, Jordan still receives negligible quantities that do not meet the terms set in the agreement between Egypt and Jordan. Jordan has suffered from a severe jump in its energy bill as a result.

The natural gas cuts were caused by severe attacks to the pipeline connecting Egypt to its neighbors in the aftermath of the uprising that caused the toppling of Husni Mubarak. Egypt is currently shopping for its own supplier of natural gas due to severe shortfalls at home and ongoing export obligations. Israel is looking to supply natural gas to Egypt in its strategy to commence by exports to immediate neighbors before reaching out for further markets.

Where exactly the gas sent to Jordan will be coming from is however causing an internal debate in Israel. While Noble Energy and Delek Group have interests in both the Tamar field and the giant Leviathan field (Noble having  36% share of Tamar, and a 40% share of Leviathan and Delek respectively 31% and 45%), smaller shareholders in Tamar (such as Isramco and Aron Gas holding respectively holding respectively 29% and 4%) are pushing for the natural gas to Jordan to come from the Tamar field.

The reason why Texas-based Noble and Israel’s Delek are inclined to secure a Leviathan deal with Jordan is clear. The giant field needs substantial amounts of funds to be developed and any sealed deal would help in that direction. The smaller shareholders have however different interests, as they are looking to ensure that their shares in the Tamar field are lucrative.

Israel’s current export strategy - exporting to immediate neighbors - has raised the question of whether Israel will be looking to reach further markets in Europe and East-Asia and whether to do so it will opt for an LNG - through Cyprus or its own - or a pipeline. Grabbing the momentum by taking advantage of the severe demand for natural gas in its surrounding before exploring other options seems to be, at the moment, the most obvious thing to do.

Karen Ayat is an analyst focused on energy geopolitics in the Eastern Mediterranean.  Email Karen on ayat_karen@hotmail.com. Follow her on Twitter: @karenayat

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