The Ministry of Investment has listed many investment opportunities on the “Invest in Jordan” platform, including a gas distribution network project aimed at providing low-cost gas supplies in Amman and Zarqa; This contributes to offsetting the rise in fuel prices.

The project included the implementation of a main pipeline network of 61 km to be connected to the “upstream” and “downstream” networks, which will provide gas to supply the domestic, commercial, hotel, light industry and transport sectors with natural gas in the areas of the cities of Amman and Zarqa.

According to the platform, the expected investment in the project is $537 million, with an expected internal rate of return of 16 percent.

The platform indicated that the added value of the project is that the natural gas supply project will be an environmentally friendly energy source compared to energy sources derived from oil, and that it will save energy costs compared to liquefied petroleum gas (even with subsidies), heating gas, and diesel, and thus the transformation will contribute to natural gas in achieving comprehensive economic growth.

As for the benefits of the project, it is represented by providing a low-cost alternative to liquid fuel for the consumer, and promoting the use of natural gas in various sectors to reduce dependence on heavy fuel, and thus reduce harmful carbon dioxide emissions, and increase the competitiveness of industries by reducing their production costs.

It also works to make optimal use of the skills and resources of the private sector in designing, implementing, operating and maintaining network facilities, developing the commercial natural gas market (including training gas engineers to acquire new skills), providing investment opportunities for Jordanian companies and investors and creating job opportunities.

The platform included important highlights of the project: increasing the use of clean energy by industries, the average amount of natural gas consumed in industrial operations reaching 24 million cubic feet per day in 2021, the growth in the use of gas as a main source of energy in industries, the proximity of large industries between Zarqa and Amman, Increasing commercial activities and industrial production, and a change in the behavior of energy consumption.

The project included a station located between Amman and Zarqa, a high-pressure stainless steel net of 16 barges (for light/small industries, a net of four barges), polyethylene nets of four barges (for heavy/large industries, a net of 0.1 barg), and polyethylene nets of 100 mm. Barges (for residential projects), 20-mbarge home pipelines, meters, and regulators (for home appliances).

The project specified that the investor in the project is required to design, build, finance, operate and maintain the gas network under a long-term lease contract with a specified period, and after the expiration of the period it will be transferred to the public sector.

As for the project success factors identified by the platform, they are the harmony between the current gas supply contracts, encouraging the government to use natural gas in all sectors, building a network that will allow the use of hydrogen in the future, the option of a build-operate-transfer (BOT) contract, and matching the value of financial support and consumption. (Balancing of Subsidies).

Petra