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Jordan pushes ahead with gas plans

9 June 2025

 

Jordan has pushed ahead with plans to increase liquefied natural gas (LNG) imports and domestic gas production in recent months to meet growing domestic energy demand.

The country is developing a new LNG terminal and has signed significant deals to boost imports. It is also inviting companies to participate in a project to boost domestic production.

Jordan relies heavily on natural gas for its power and industrial needs. In 2022, natural gas was the country’s largest source of electricity generation, generating 73% of all electricity consumed in the country.

Aqaba terminal

In August 2024, Jordan’s Aqaba Development Corporation (ADC) awarded the main contract for a project to develop the Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah LNG onshore regasification facility in Jordan’s port of Aqaba.

The contract was won by a consortium of Singapore-based AG&P and South Korea’s Gas Entec, along with their local partner, Jordan’s Issa Haddadin.

AG&P has majority ownership of Gas Entec, and ADC is owned by the Government of Jordan and the Aqaba Special Economic Zone Authority.

The facility will have the capacity to process 720 million standard cubic feet a day (cf/d) of natural gas.

The exact value of the contract was not disclosed by ADC or the consortium awarded the project, but the facility has been estimated to be worth about $1bn by regional projects tracker MEED Projects.

The $1bn price tag makes it the biggest active project that has progressed beyond the study stage across Jordan’s oil, gas and chemical sectors, according to MEED Projects data.

The project was originally scheduled to be completed, commissioned and delivered within 22 months, with the project due to be commissioned by the second quarter of 2026.

The new permanent LNG import terminal is expected to replace an existing floating storage regasification unit (FSRU) located in Aqaba port that began operations in 2025.

Egyptian deal

While Jordan waits for the permanent Aqaba terminal to come online, authorities in the country have had to make interim deals to meet domestic energy demand.

In December, Jordan and Egypt signed an agreement that enables Jordan to use Egypt’s FSRUs for a period of two years.

The agreement was signed in Cairo by the director-general of Jordan’s National Electric Power Company (Nepco), Sofyan Batayneh, and the chairman of Egyptian Natural Gas Holding Company (Egas), Yassin Mohamed.

Jordan’s Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources Saleh Kharabsheh called the agreement “a milestone” in Jordanian-Egyptian energy cooperation.

He also said it could potentially increase resource efficiency and cut costs for Jordan.

Under the agreement, Jordan will have priority access to Egypt’s FSRUs, with 350 million cf/d of natural gas allocated to meet Jordan’s needs.

The cost of Jordan’s LNG shipments is expected to be around $3m each, with an additional $5m for transport via the Egyptian gas network.

Total annual costs are capped at $10m, a far lower cost than the $70m spent on imports via the Aqaba floating LNG terminal, according to a statement released in December.

Under the current plans, Jordan will rely on Egypt’s FSRUs until 2026, when the land-based regasification facility under construction in Aqaba is expected to become operational.

Boosting domestic production

At the same time as investing in infrastructure that will make it possible to import large volumes of natural gas, the country is also trying to boost domestic gas production to reduce its reliance on natural gas.

A key focus for Jordan when it comes to increasing domestic production is the Risha gas field, which is located in northeast Jordan, 370 kilometres east of Amman, near the Iraqi border.

The field has been producing since 1989, but over recent months, there has been increased optimism about its potential to meet a much higher proportion of domestic energy needs.

Speaking at a ceremony in May, Kharabsheh said that the government was working to fully meet the kingdom’s natural gas needs from the Risha gas field within the next five years through the efforts of National Petroleum Company (NPC).

His comments came after the Ministry of Energy & Mineral Resources released the results of gas exploration in the area in November last year.

According to the results published by the ministry, the medium estimate for gas reserves in the area suggests that the field holds 11.99 trillion cubic feet of in-place reserves, with 39% or 4.675 trillion cubic feet potentially recoverable.

The lower-end estimates indicated reserves of 9.39 trillion cubic feet, with 30% recoverable, amounting to around 2.835 trillion cubic feet.

The highest estimate placed reserves at 14.6 trillion cubic feet, with a potential 43% recovery rate, amounting to 6.35 trillion cubic feet.

Since 2022, the Jordanian government has directed significant resources to oil and gas exploration, with NPC leading studies in cooperation with international experts.

The final phase of the most recent exploration assessments included reserve certification by Beicip-Franlab, a leading French energy consultancy.

Development plans

As part of the initiative to further develop the Risha field, there are plans for more drilling and a gas pipeline.

In April, NPC issued an invitation to companies to submit prequalification documents to participate in a tender for a contract to drill 80 wells at the field.

The drilling campaign is part of a broader push to try to boost gas production to 200 million cf/d by the end of the decade.

Plans are also under way to build a 320km gas pipeline connecting the Risha field to Al-Khanasri.

The first phase of the pipeline is expected to transport 150 million standard cf/d, with the second phase expanding its capacity to 500 million cf/d.

While Jordan pushes ahead with plans for more drilling and more infrastructure at the Risha field, there are no guarantees that this will lead to a large increase in domestic production.

The simultaneous expansion of the country’s LNG import capabilities means that natural gas is set to remain a major part of the country’s energy mix for some time to come.

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Wil Crisp

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