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Jordan to Increase Gas Imports from Egypt

A plant's gas tanks are seen at the desert road of Suez city north of Cairo, Egypt. (Reuters file photo)
A plant's gas tanks are seen at the desert road of Suez city north of Cairo, Egypt. (Reuters file photo)
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Jordan to Increase Gas Imports from Egypt

A plant's gas tanks are seen at the desert road of Suez city north of Cairo, Egypt. (Reuters file photo)
A plant's gas tanks are seen at the desert road of Suez city north of Cairo, Egypt. (Reuters file photo)

Jordan announced on Tuesday that it was seeking to increase its natural gas imports from Egypt to cover a third of its demands.

Hala Zawati, Jordanian minister of energy and mineral resources, estimated Jordan’s gas demands in 2019 at around 350 million cubic feet per day.

“Jordan started receiving natural gas from Egypt since September. It’s on (an) experimental basis for the pipeline but we hope in the beginning of 2019 to increase these amounts,” she told reporters.

Jordan began importing natural gas from Egypt two months ago but increasing imports significantly would depend on construction of a pipeline between Jordan and Iraq which has yet to be built.

“We have not yet agreed with Egypt. Now there are negotiations on how much will be pumped but we hope at least one third of the country’s requirements will be taken from Egypt,” she added, without giving a timeframe for reaching that goal.

Asked about the pipeline which will eventually connect the southern city of Basra in Iraq with Jordan’s Red Sea port of Aqaba, Zawati said: “We’ve had discussions with Iraq that started years ago. It was approved by the Jordanian cabinet, and now we are waiting for the Iraqi side to start working on the pipeline.”

“It’s still there as an idea but has not (yet) materialized... the political situation did not allow for that pipeline to materialize.”

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Aramco Plans Transition Minerals Joint Venture with Ma'aden

The proposed JV would focus on energy transition minerals, including extracting lithium from high-concentration deposits and advancing cost-effective direct lithium extraction (DLE) technologies - File Photo
The proposed JV would focus on energy transition minerals, including extracting lithium from high-concentration deposits and advancing cost-effective direct lithium extraction (DLE) technologies - File Photo
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Aramco Plans Transition Minerals Joint Venture with Ma'aden

The proposed JV would focus on energy transition minerals, including extracting lithium from high-concentration deposits and advancing cost-effective direct lithium extraction (DLE) technologies - File Photo
The proposed JV would focus on energy transition minerals, including extracting lithium from high-concentration deposits and advancing cost-effective direct lithium extraction (DLE) technologies - File Photo

Aramco, one of the world's leading integrated energy and chemicals companies, and Ma'aden, the largest multi-commodity mining and metals company in the Middle East and North Africa region, announced on Wednesday the signing of non-binding Heads of Terms, which envisages the formation of a minerals exploration and mining joint venture (JV) in Saudi Arabia.
According to a press release, the proposed JV would focus on energy transition minerals, including extracting lithium from high-concentration deposits and advancing cost-effective direct lithium extraction (DLE) technologies. Commercial lithium production is likely to commence by 2027.
This JV is expected to extend Aramco's capabilities into an adjacent sector, leveraging its technological innovation resource and data management skills. It would seek to unlock the potential of the Kingdom's high-value mineral resources, with the aim of helping meet the growing demand for lithium and other transition minerals both domestically and globally. The JV is expected to harness natural resources utilizing a wealth of subsurface data and emerging technologies to advance the Kingdom's economic diversification and energy ambitions, according to SPA.
The statements also added that there is significant potential for the extraction of energy transition minerals in the Kingdom. For example, Aramco has identified several areas with a high lithium concentration of up to 400 parts per million as part of its operations. The JV will benefit from Aramco's expertise and operations, including the use of existing infrastructure, industry-leading drilling operations, and more than 90 years of geological data in its area of operations.
Aramco Upstream President Nasir K. Al-Naimi said, "This announcement reflects Aramco's focus on positively contributing to the global energy transition. The proposed JV will enable the extraction of energy transition minerals, contributing to the growth of more sustainable energy solutions while diversifying our portfolio for a lower-carbon future. We expect that this partnership will leverage the world's leading upstream enterprise to apply significant low-cost advantages, industry experience, technological innovation, accumulated subsurface knowledge and an integrated supply chain ecosystem, with a view to meeting the Kingdom and potentially the world's projected lithium demand."
Ma'aden Senior Vice President of Exploration Darryl Clark stated, "Ma'aden has been undertaking one of the world's largest single-jurisdiction exploration programs across the Arabian Shield to unearth the estimated $2.5 trillion mineral endowment. This proposed JV would enable us to accelerate exploration of the Arabian Platform, combining Aramco's knowledge of the area with Ma'aden's mining and exploration expertise."
Lithium is a fundamental component of the energy transition, essential for production in fast-growing sectors such as electric vehicles, energy storage, and renewables. The global demand for lithium has tripled over the past five years, and its compound annual growth rate is anticipated to exceed 15% annually through 2035. The JV could help meet the Kingdom's forecasted demand for lithium, which is expected to grow twenty-fold between 2024 and 2030, supporting an estimated 500,000 electric vehicle batteries and 110 GW of renewables.
The planned JV, which is subject to customary closing conditions including regulatory approvals, was announced during the Future Minerals Forum in Riyadh.