Jordan Finds More Gas Near Iraqi Border
Jordan's energy minister Hala Zawati reported on December 13 that the drilling of well 53 at the Risha gas field near the border with Iraq had shown "promising results," noting it would become clear how much gas could be flowed from the borehole by the end of the year.
The drilling of wells 50, 51 and 52 at Risha is ongoing, Zawati said in a statement, adding that the field's daily output excluding flows at well 53 came to 19mn ft3. This means the field is meeting over 5% of the kingdom's overall consumption of around 350mn ft3, the minister said.
Jordan has been stepping up drilling work recently in its eastern desert area in the hope of finding enough gas to ease its reliance on imported fuels in the power sector. Zawati noted that the country's 2020-2030 energy strategy strived to expand the share of domestic energy sources in electricity generation to 48.5% from 15% in 2019.
The Risha field is operated by the state-owned National Petroleum Company.