The Egyptian Natural Gas Holding Company (EGAS) reduced gas exports to Jordan to about 140m cubic feet per day (scf/day), from 350m scf/day last month, in accordance to the quantities requested by Amman.
A source at EGAS told Daily News Egypt that the quantities of gas destined for Jordan have been cut, as the gas consumption of electricity plants decreased in winter.
The Egyptian government signed a 15-year agreement with Jordan in 2004 to provide 250m scf/day valued at $2.5 per one million British Thermal Units (BTU), but the government raised gas prices during April 2012, to reach $5 per one million BTU.
The source added that the contract signed between Egypt and Jordan is dynamic and subject to change periodically based on the required quantities of gas and the available reserves after fulfilling the needs of the local market.
He explained that the Egypt-Jordan gas pipeline can pump over 500m scf/day, and the quantities allocated for export are subject to increase/decrease in accordance with the requirements of Amman.
The source pointed out that exporting gas to Jordan achieves a higher economic return than LNG shipments at the present, due to the decrease in the value of LNG in global markets today.
Egypt has resumed exporting natural gas to Jordan since September 2018, with quantities ranging from 50m to 100m scf/day.
The source pointed out that the export of gas to Jordan contributed to Egypt’s transformation into a regional centre for energy distribution in the region, after achieving self-sufficiency in gas.
The agreement between Egypt and Jordan provides the latter with imports of 10% of the needs of running its power stations from Egyptian natural gas.
Petroleum sector officials of both countries are following up on the execution position of joint projects and the strategies that have been put in place to provide and diversify energy sources, especially natural gas.
