Today, Saturday, the Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources, Dr. Saleh Kharabsheh, described the compressed gas station (Jordan Chlorine), under construction, in the Risha region as one of the most important energy projects at the current stage, and comes within the executive program of the vision of economic modernization.

He added, in a press statement, during a tour that included the Risha gas field, the (Jordan Chlorine) station, and the electrical interconnection project with Iraq, that the compressed gas project aims to increase the use of natural gas for industries, especially since the capacity of the Risha gas field exceeds the needs of the Risha station to generate electricity, and the quantities will be used surplus in this project.

He said that the compressed gas project is one of three projects for the production of compressed natural gas expected in the Risha region, and that the production of these projects will be transferred to be used in industries as a fuel source, which saves about 50 percent of the cost of fuel when compared to diesel.

With regard to the date of completion of the project, Kharabsheh said that within two months, the installation of gas units will begin, while they will be commercially operated by the end of this year, which will contribute to encouraging industries to use natural gas as an alternative to heavy fuel.

And he indicated that the Ministry of Energy will soon offer tenders for the delivery of natural gas to the industrial cities of Al-Muwaqqar and Al-Rawdah, to reduce the operational costs of the industrial sector, which will provide more job opportunities.

He stressed the importance of these projects in enhancing the competitiveness of the industrial sector and the ability to use these quantities of gas within the plans of the National Petroleum Company to produce natural gas during the coming years, especially that the company has a number of future projects such as the production of industrial gases and ammonia gas, which will enhance the position of the region by providing it with many Industries, the most important of which is the fertilizer industry.

Minister Kharabsheh also confirmed that the Risha area constituted a priority for the Ministry of Energy, and exploratory projects were implemented in it, most notably on phosphate ore, explaining that the company, with which a memorandum of understanding was signed to exploit phosphate ore, has started work and will continue during the coming period the work of the project.
He pointed out that the region contains a number of projects that benefit the national economy, including drilling and exploration for natural gas, which comes within the executive plan to see economic modernization, in addition to the electrical interconnection project with Iraq.

For his part, the Director General of the National Petroleum Company, Eng. Muhammad al-Khasawneh, said that the company signed agreements with three local companies: National Chlorine Industry, Manaseer, and Unigaz, agreements to sell natural gas from the field to be converted by these companies into compressed or liquefied gas and transported by tankers to consumption points.

He explained that the National Chlorine Company started civil construction work last February and is expected to complete it next August, and then start buying Risha gas.

Al-Khasawneh expected that the quantities withdrawn from the three companies at the end of 2024 would reach about 20 million cubic feet per day, in addition to 18 million cubic feet per day sold to the Samra Electricity Generating Company – Al-Rishah Station.

Al-Khasawneh presented the plans and programs of the National Petroleum Company and said that the company’s plan for the years (2020-2030) aims to increase the production capacity of the field to reach 200 million cubic feet per day in 2030, and drill between 55 and 70 new wells during this period and implement geological and geophysical studies to determine the drilling sites Determine the gas reserve values ​​in the field.

He said that the company, in order to accelerate the drilling program of wells, most of which will be drilled during the next five years, will take measures to enhance drilling capabilities without relying entirely on its rigs and according to a mechanism that includes contracting with international drilling services companies to drill ten wells on a turnkey basis. Excavations at the end of this year or in the first quarter of next year.

In this regard, Al-Khasawneh said that the technical committees have finished evaluating the offers, technically and financially, and are now in the process of awarding the bid to the company with the best offer, technically and financially.

According to Al-Khasawneh, the mechanism also includes accelerating drilling operations with the help of excavators in order to prepare the upper section of the wells, and these excavators will start their work at the end of this month, after locating five new wells based on the outputs of the integrated study currently underway by the global Schlumberger company, and 4 wells will be drilled. By the company’s excavator annually.

Al-Khasawneh stressed the importance of the company’s procedures in the success of its marketing plan, given that the National Petroleum Company relies on self-financing its plan through its share of the revenue from the sale of gas produced from the field, and therefore the company sought to search for new buyers to increase revenues in a manner consistent with the development of production capabilities, in line with And its endeavors to support the local economy by encouraging private sector investment in projects that use the available gas to establish and build companies with high added value aimed at export as a method of providing job opportunities and maximizing exports in a sustainable manner.