Jordan denies halt of Egyptian gas pumping

Jordanian Minister of Energy, Mineral Resources and Transport Alaa Al Batayneh has denied the halt of the Egyptian gas pumping to his country, stressing that pumping is continuing within the normal rates. In a statement to reporters Al Batayneh said the pumped quantities come in implementation of the existing agreement signed between the two countries in 2004 and renewed in 2011, adding that under the terms of the agreement Egypt supplies Jordan with about 250 million cubic feet of gas per day to generate electricity. Official data in Jordan indicate that Amman imported in 2011 about 97% of its energy needs at a cost of about USD 5 billion accounting for about 20% of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP). As per the agreement signed between the two parties in 2011, the Egyptian government amended the gas selling prices to Jordan in line with the global gas sale prices in The Jordanian Ministry of Energy is currently working to build a liquefied natural gas (LNG) berth in Aqaba in order to enable Jordanimport LNG by tankers from the global market. This strategy aims to diversify the supply sources of natural gas.