Jordan signs $771m deal for Israeli gas

Jordan signs $771m deal for Israeli gas



Published — Friday 21 February 2014

http://www.arabnews.com/news/528721

AMMAN: Two Jordanian firms have signed a $771-million deal with US-based Noble Energy to supply them with natural gas from an Israeli offshore field, media reports say.

The Arab Potash and Jordan Bromine companies singed the agreement on Wednesday to obtain from Noble Energy and its Israeli partners 2 billion cubic meters (around 70 billion cubic feet) of gas from Israel’s Tamar field for 15 years.

“The supply will start in the coming two years. The project will reduce the total production cost for Arab Potash by $357 million and for Jordan Bromine by $7.5 million in the first stage of the project,” Al-Ghad newspaper quoted Arab Potash chairman Jamal Sarairah as saying.

Noble Energy owns 36 percent of the Tamar field in the eastern Mediterranean.

“The shift from heavy fuel to the less expensive and more eco-friendly natural gas is projected to produce total cost savings of 235 million dinars ($331 million, 242 million euros),” Arab Potash General Manager Brent Heimann was quoted as saying in the Jordan Times.

Energy-poor Jordan relied heavy on Egyptian gas supplies but a spate of attacks on the export pipeline through the restive Sinai Peninsula has repeatedly cut supplies to both the kingdom and Israel.

Egyptian gas covers 80 percent of electricity generation in Jordan, which imports 95 percent of its energy needs. Officials have said the disruptions in gas supplies cost Jordan at least $1 million a day.

Jordan

Princess Firyal is the princess for Jordan, and an overseer at the International Rescue Committee.

Note: Foundation to Promote Open Society was a funder for the International Rescue Committee, the Aspen Institute (think tank), the Hudson Institute (think tank), the Committee for Economic Development, and the NAACP Legal Defense & Educational Fund.

George Soros was the chairman for the Foundation to Promote Open Society, is a board member for the International Crisis Group, and the founder & chairman for the Open Society Foundations.

Open Society Foundations was a funder for the Atlantic Council of the United States (think tank), and the American Constitution Society.

Thomas R. Pickering was a lifetime trustee at the Aspen Institute (think tank), a U.S. ambassador for Jordan, is a co-chair for the International Crisis Group, and a director at the Atlantic Council of the United States (think tank),

Queen Noor is a trustee at the Aspen Institute (think tank), and the queen dowager for Jordan.

Walter Isaacson is the president & CEO for the Aspen Institute (think tank), and was the chairman & CEO for CNN.

Ted Turner is the founder of CNN, a co-chairman for the Nuclear Threat Initiative (think tank), and the founder & chairman for the Better World Fund.

El Hassan bin Talal is a director at the Nuclear Threat Initiative (think tank), and the crown prince of Jordan.

Better World Fund was a funder for the Atlantic Council of the United States (think tank),

Thomas J. Edelman is a director at the Atlantic Council of the United States (think tank), and a director at Noble Energy Inc.

Jeffrey L. Berenson is a trustee at the Hudson Institute (think tank), and a director at Noble Energy Inc.

Edward F. Cox is a trustee at the Committee for Economic Development, and a director at Noble Energy Inc.

Covington & Burling LLP was the lobby firm for the Noble Energy Inc., and is the lobby firm for the National Football League.

Eric H. Holder Jr. was a partner at Covington & Burling LLP, an intern at the NAACP Legal Defense & Educational Fund, a board member for the American Constitution Society, and is the attorney general at the U.S. Department of Justice for the Barack Obama administration.

Eric P. Grubman is the EVP for the National Football League, and a director at Noble Energy Inc.

Gene A. Washington was the director of football operations for the National Football League, and Condoleezza Rice’s frequent social companion.

Condoleezza Rice is Gene A. Washington’s frequent social companion, an overseer at the International Rescue Committee, a trustee at the Aspen Institute (think tank), a director at the Atlantic Council of the United States (think tank), and a 2008 Bilderberg conference participant (think tank).

Princess Firyal is an overseer at the International Rescue Committee, and the princess for Jordan.

Queen Noor is a trustee at the Aspen Institute (think tank), and the queen dowager for Jordan.

Thomas R. Pickering was a lifetime trustee at the Aspen Institute (think tank), a U.S. ambassador for Jordan, is a co-chair for the International Crisis Group, and a director at the Atlantic Council of the United States (think tank).