Aqaba-Rihab Gas Pipeline Profile

According to “Jordan Times”, work on the Egyptian-Jordanian natural gas pipeline extending from Aqaba to Rehab electric power station is nearing completion and could be operational by the end of the year. Sources from the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources said the welding of pipes from Aqaba to Rihab, a total of 393 kilometers, has been completed and hydrostatic tests on the pipeline with water will be carried out soon before liquefied gas can be pumped into the pipeline. The ministry has signed a 15-year agreement with the Egyptian government to receive gas at reduced rates for industrial purposes. The deal comes after the government adopted a plan to replace the diesel oil used in industry with the cheaper Egyptian gas. According to the sources, Rihab power station in northern Jordan is ready to receive the gas and Al Samra power station east of Zarqa will be ready next month. The ministry has formed technical committees grouping industrialists to study the routes of pipelines needed to supply the gas to the Arab Potash Company, Jordan Cement Factories Company and fertilizer companies. These companies are expected to start using gas for their various production operations by the beginning of 2006, according to the same sources. They are expected to use a total of 800 million cubic meters of liquefied gas (equal to 800,000 tons of heavy fuel oil) annually by the year of 2010. As part of the restructuring process, the ministry is planning to set up a workshop to convert oil -run vehicles into ones that run on gas, a project that will be undertaken by the Jordanian-Egyptian Fajer Company and the Aqaba Development Firm.