Senate's energy committee calls for expanding oil, gas exploration in Kingdom

AMMAN — The Senate's Energy and Mineral Resources Committee on Thursday was acquainted with the oil and gas reserves and “the reality of the Kingdom's energy sector”. 

Head of the committee Senator Saleh Irsheidat said as the Kingdom imports energy products, this could increase the ratio of imported energy to the gross domestic product (GDP), which leads to a "remarkable" pressure on the balance of payments and a constant need for foreign currencies to fund energy purchases, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported. 

He also called for expanding oil and gas exploration operations in the Kingdom, noting that Jordan has long-term gas supply contracts that mitigate the negative effects of high prices. 

Director General of the National Petroleum Company (NPC) Mohammed Khasawneh said there is evidence of oil and gas reserves in Hamzeh, Al Risheh and Al Sarhan fields, adding that the NPC has processed and studied two- and three-dimensional seismic surveys related to the Sarhan field. 

The NPC has "productive data and proven oil evidence in the Sarhan field and the quality of the oil is very excellent. The crude is the light and has high-value qualities," Khasawneh said.