JD811 million in debts owed to refinery — CEO

AMMAN — Debts owed to the Jordan Petroleum Refinery Company (JPRC) total around JD811 million, its CEO said Wednesday. 

JPRC Chief Executive Officer Abdel Karim Alawin told The Jordan Times that the state-owned National Electric Power Company (NEPCO) currently owes the refinery JD330 million after paying JD400 million some two weeks ago. 

Out of the outstanding NEPCO debt, the due date for around JD166 million has passed, Alawin said. 

Another major debtor, he added, is Royal Jordanian (RJ), the Kingdom's national carrier, which owes the refinery JD81 million, around JD77 million of which is due now. 

The JPRC CEO noted that the Finance Ministry and other public institutions also owe Jordan's sole refinery around JD400 million, indicating that most of the debts are related to the fuel subsidy. 

Asked if unpaid debts are hampering operations or increasing financial pressure on JPRC, Alawin said the refinery's financial performance is improving and that it has halved its debts owed to local banks. 

Some two years ago, debts owed to banks stood at around JD1.2 billion, according to the CEO, while currently the value of loans is JD600 million. 

The sharp decline in global oil prices has lessened financial burdens on NEPCO, which relies on fuel for power generation, as production costs have dropped sharply, Alawin noted.

JPRC refines 14,000 barrels of light Arab oil daily, according to refinery figures.