“Iraq currently provides crude oil by trucks to Jordan, and these quantities are not enough for the Jordanian market,” said al-Dabbagh.
Rifai’s talks with the Iraqi prime minister focused on political and economic cooperation, mainly in the energy sector. The leaders discussed collaboration in the electricity industry and the possible joint development of the Risha gas field, which lies mostly within Jordan.
BP Plc agreed in October 2009 to join Jordan’s state-owned National Petroleum Co. to explore and develop Risha, which covers an area of about 7,000 square kilometers (2,700 square miles).
BP plans to spend $237 million to increase output at the field within three to four years, according to the agreement. The London-based company may spend an additional $8 billion to $10 billion to boost production from the field to 330 million cubic feet a day from the current level of 21 million cubic feet a day.
Jordan’s government seeks to attract investments of $14 billion in energy infrastructure. It forecasts that domestic fuel consumption will increase to 10 million metric tons of oil equivalent by 2020, up one third from today’s 7.5 million tons. The government expects electricity consumption to almost double within 10 years to 5,200 megawatts.
(Sources: Bloomberg, Reuters)
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