On Saturday, Jordan and Egypt signed a cooperation agreement to exploit the gas infrastructure in the two countries, according to which the Egyptian side will use the floating storage and gasification unit in Aqaba during the remaining period of the floating vessel charter contract.

The signing took place under the auspices of the Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources, Saleh Kharabsheh, and the Egyptian Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources, Tarek El-Mulla, and officials from both countries.

The agreement was signed by the General Manager of the National Electricity Company (NEPCO) Amjad Al-Rawashdeh, and on behalf of the Egyptian Natural Gas Holding Company (EGAS), the company’s president, Magdy Galal.

The Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources, Saleh Kharabsheh, said in a press statement after the signing that the main objective of the agreement is to benefit from the resources of the two countries with higher efficiency and lower cost, stressing that the use of the floating ship in Aqaba will be until the end of the ship’s charter contract by the end of 2025, after which the coastal gasification unit that it implements will be used. Ministry now.

He said that the ministry is in the stage of issuing bids for this unit, and it will be during the next two months a vision about the extent to which the designs meet the needs of the two countries, pointing to the launch of the Jordanian government for the national program for the delivery of natural gas to factories by issuing a tender for the delivery of natural gas to the industrial city of Rawdah in the Ma’an region and the industrial city in the Al-Muwaqqar industrial area. And starting a project to deliver gas to homes in the cities of Amman and Zarqa, calling on Egyptian companies with long experience to invest in these two fields.

Minister Kharabsheh valued the strategic and distinguished relationship in the field of energy between the two sides, stressing the importance of the agreement signed today in the Egyptian side benefiting from the Jordanian infrastructure by exploiting the floating gas vessel in the port of Sheikh Sabah in Aqaba to achieve participatory and efficient work and reduce costs on both sides.

He described the Jordanian-Egyptian relations as strategic and distinguished in various fields, especially energy cooperation, stressing that the two countries have accumulated experiences in this field that can be benefited from and maximized during the coming period, especially since the two countries have distinguished infrastructures in the fields of energy.

For his part, Minister Al-Mulla said that Egypt has experiences in various applications for the use of domestic gas, such as the use of domestic gas, and Egypt will work to maximize Jordan’s benefit from these experiences, stressing the importance of Jordanian-Egyptian cooperation in implementing a number of projects under the umbrella of the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources.

He said that Egypt has multiple projects related to energy efficiency, reducing carbon emissions and global warming, stressing that natural gas has top priority in these projects, especially industrial ones.

Regarding the agreement, Rawashdeh said in a press statement that it comes within the framework of joint cooperation between the government of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan and the Arab Republic of Egypt in the energy sector in light of government directives and within the framework of the National Electric Power Company’s plan to reduce the operating costs of the Jordanian electrical system and enhance the security of energy supply in both countries.

According to Al-Rawashdeh, the agreement included technical and commercial conditions that guarantee the rights of both parties and benefit them, pointing out that the agreement allows the Egyptian side to use the floating storage and gasification unit anchored in the Sheikh Sabah LNG port in Aqaba during the remaining period of the floating ship charter contract, which ends in mid-2025. .

He added, according to the agreement, the Jordanian side will be supplied with liquefied natural gas from the Arab Republic of Egypt, and part of the quantities of natural gas will be re-pumped when needed to the Arab Republic of Egypt through pipelines extending between the two countries.

Regarding the expected benefits of the agreement, Al-Rawashdeh said that it contributes to reducing the operating costs of the LNG port in Aqaba, in addition to protecting the National Electric Power Company from fluctuations in international prices in case it needs LNG for any emergency circumstances.

The kingdom