RIYADH: Egypt and Jordan have entered into a collaboration agreement that allows the North African nation to use the floating storage regasification unit at the Sheikh Sabah port in Aqaba.
FSRU terminals are crucial in the liquefied natural gas value chain, forming the interface between LNG carriers and the local gas supply infrastructure.
As part of the agreement, the Jordanian side will receive LNG from Egypt and pump back some of the natural gas through transborder pipelines to the African country if needed.
According to Egypt’s Ministry of Petroleum and Mineral Resources, the agreement aims to reduce the operational costs of LNG storage and regasification and secure gas supplies for both countries.
Moreover, the Egyptian firm EGAS and the Jordanian-Egyptian company Fajr have agreed to collaborate to supply the Jordanian industrial sector with natural gas, utilizing the infrastructure that extends to Jordan.
The cooperation comes within the framework of reducing operational costs for Jordan’s electricity system and enhancing the security of the energy supply for the two countries.
The agreement was signed by Saleh Kharabsheh, Jordan’s minister of energy and mineral resources and Tarek El-Molla, Egypt’s minister of petroleum and mineral resources.
Egypt’s transformation from a gas importer to an exporter occurred in late 2019 following the discovery of numerous wells that radically altered the country’s gas supply.
Egypt’s total natural gas production currently averages 6.5 billion cubic feet per day to 7 billion.
The country has set ambitious plans to increase its petroleum exports by 15 percent this year, reaching $21 billion. The government seeks to achieve an annual surplus of $3 billion in oil balance, Asharq reported.
In 2022, Egypt’s natural gas production surged to 50 million tons, a significant rise of approximately 14 percent from 2021.
This increase enabled the country to meet local demands while exporting 8 million tons worth $8.4 billion, starkly contrasting the $3.5 billion in 2021.
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