JOTC, JIEC sign MoU to supply natural gas to Muwaqar Industrial Estate

AMMAN — The Jordan Oil Terminals Company (JOTC) and the Jordanian Industrial Estate Company (JIEC) signed a memorandum of understanding on Wednesday to supply the Muwaqar Industrial Estate with natural gas. 

The memorandum was signed in the presence of Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources Saleh Kharabsheh, JOTC's General Manager Hasan Heyari, and JIEC General Manager Omar Jwayed, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported.

The memorandum outlines the agreement between the two parties to establish infrastructure and a gas network within Muwaqar Industrial Estate, including a comprehensive study on the establishment, ownership, financing, management, and operation of the network.

Kharabsheh emphasised the significance of the memorandum, viewing it as a "crucial" step in a national project aimed at promoting the use of natural gas in industries, aligning with the priorities of the Economic Modernisation Vision. He also underscored the ministry’s efforts to alleviate energy costs on the sector by increasing the contribution of natural gas.

Kharabsheh also noted that while the energy bill places a burden on the industrial sector, natural gas serves as a more efficient and economical fuel, adding that "Gas accounts for over 50 per cent of the energy bill for industries compared with other fuel sources, thereby enhancing the competitiveness of national industries, boosting exports, expanding investment opportunities, and creating more jobs".

Heyari said that the delivery of natural gas to the Muwaqar Industrial Estate, the first industrial city to benefit from the project, will be followed by efforts to supply other industrial cities in the future. 

Jwayed noted that the Muwaqar Industrial Estate is home to 100 industrial investments worth JD700 million, providing 5,000 job opportunities.

Luay Sahwil, CEO of the industrial cities, said that the industrial cities host approximately 920 industrial investments with an investment volume exceeding JD3 billion, offering about 65,000 job opportunities nationwide. 

The Cabinet in November 2023 approved the assignment of JOTC to undertake the tasks required by the Government Natural Gas Company to increase its contribution to reducing energy costs on the national economy.