Jordan News

The Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources, Hala Zawati, announced to local media that the product development work in the Hamza oil field aims to produce larger quantities of oil.

The announcement challenges the stereotype of Jordan’s oil shortage and ends a year-long debate between energy experts who have confirmed the kingdom’s oil presence and the government, which has repeatedly denied the allegations.

One of these experts is petroleum geologist and exploration expert Zuhair Sadiq, who has spoken several times about the presence of oil in large quantities in Jordan, based on scientific studies he conducted.

“The kingdom is rich in natural resources, including oil, gas, oil shale, and various types of minerals,” Sadiq said, adding that “Jordan has sufficient natural resources to cover domestic demand and export, cover government debt, and increase job opportunities.”

He stressed that “if the kingdom were to reach the maximum oil production, it could enjoy up to one million barrels per day.”

Sadiq added that he has invited, along with other oil experts, for years through seminars, lectures and media interviews with government agencies for research and drilling in the Hamza field, noting that “this field is considered promising, and the results will be satisfactory and will exceed our expectations.”

He said that “Jordan is floating on a lake of oil and needs exploration, research and drilling” under the supervision of experts.

Sadiq added that he can only speculate due to the government’s neglect of drilling operations in the Hamza field during the past 30 years. “There are commercial quantities,” he said, and it is likely that more will be discovered in the future.

The geologist confirms that Jordan is rich in oil and natural gas, explaining that the first well was discovered in the Risha field in 1987, “and its daily production at that time was 30 million cubic feet.”

Sadiq claimed that the volume of production at the Risha field has since dwindled to 9 or 10 million cubic feet.

Moreover, studies conducted by the Geological Society of America have discussed the presence of up to 12 trillion cubic feet of gas at the site, while others have estimated the amount at around 70 trillion cubic feet, the geologist confirmed.

Sadiq concluded that the economic crisis in Jordan can be combated by exploiting the resources in the kingdom that would bring with it job opportunities, energy sufficiency and export opportunities.

For her part, Zawati said, “This is the first time that Jordanian oil production has reached 1.5 percent of the kingdom’s consumption.”

Zawati stressed that working in the field of Hamza is a fundamental development for the national economy in terms of increasing the contribution of local energy sources to the total energy mix, in line with the main strategy for the energy sector 2020-2030 with its primary goal of “self-reliance”.

She explained that the ministry’s two-year plan for the Hamza field includes completing the maintenance of the four working wells and developing production.