Good news for Jordan’s energy sector

It is, indeed, great news that Jordan is now receiving half of its daily need of natural gas for the production of electricity from Egypt.

The availability and the cost of energy is what makes or breaks a country's national economy, and Jordan is no exception. When energy sources decline or are interrupted, local industries and home consumers are the first to suffer.

Now, at last, some 165 million cubic feet of natural gas are being imported from Egypt per day, thanks to the series of talks between the two countries that led to the resumption of the supply of Egyptian natural gas to Jordan. These brotherly accords came as a result of warmer relations between the two countries, especially in the wake of the recent talks held between His Majesty King Abdullah and Egyptian President Abdel Fattah Sisi in Amman.

Unfortunately, this deal is only good for 2019. What happens next in the future remains up for debate.

No doubt, Jordan is making contingency arrangements to replace any interruption of Egyptian natural gas, including the accord with Noble Energy to import natural gas from the Mediterranean. Jordan cannot be choosy on the sources of its natural gas needs and must take what it can from whatever source, as long as it is steady, dependable and cost effective.

Jordan had relied on Egyptian natural gas for many years before it was interrupted in 2011 due, in no small part, to a series of terrorist attacks on the pipeline across the Sinai Desert that supplied the Kingdom with this vital Egyptian natural gas at an affordable rate. The terrorists who sabotaged this vital supply of gas had, no doubt, the intention of jeopardising the bilateral relations between the two countries, and, more specifically, hurting Jordan's economy.

Jordan's industry risks coming to a standstill if the country is denied access to natural gas at affordable prices. Now, at last, Egypt is ready and able to resume its supply of natural gas, albeit for this year, after it has succeeded in restoring security to the Sinai Peninsula.