Jordan to tap into Egypt’s FSRUs

Jordan and Egypt have signed an agreement whereby Jordan will utilise Egypt’s FSRUs for the next two years.

This agreement was signed in Cairo by Director General of Jordan's National Electric Power Company (NEPCO) Sofyan Bataneh and Chairman of the Egyptian Natural Gas Holding Company (EGAS) Yassin Mohamed, according to a Jordanian Energy Ministry statement yesterday.

At the signing ceremony, Jordan’s Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources, Saleh Kharabsheh, hailed the agreement as a milestone in Jordanian/Egyptian energy co-operation, highlighting its potential to maximise resource efficiency and cut costs.

He said that Jordan will rely on Egypt's FSRUs until 2026 when a land-based regasification facility under construction in Aqaba is expected to become operational.

"The agreement enables both countries to optimise the use of their resources and infrastructure, achieving mutual benefits while lowering costs," Minister Kharabsheh said.

Under the terms of the agreement, Jordan will have priority access to Egypt's FSRUs, with 350 mill cu ft of natural gas per day allocated to meet Jordan’s needs - equivalent to 50% of an FSRU’s capacity.

Jordan's LNG shipments’ cost is expected to be around $3 mill each, with an additional $5 mill for transport along the Egyptian gas network.

Total annual costs were capped at $10 mill, significantly less than the $70 mill currently spent on the Aqaba LNG terminal, the Ministry said.

Aqaba’s LNG terminal project construction is due to begin this month.

It has also been reported that Egypt and Jordan were exploring further collaboration in the LNG sector.

The two countries are studying the possibility of contracting an international company to build an FSRU that would receive LNG shipments, re-gasify the gas, and inject it into both national grids.

Both countries are evaluating a joint purchase of an FSRU vessel to meet their needs for importing LNG.