Jordan - Energy and power



Jordan does not have petroleum deposits. Before the 1991 Gulf War, its imports of oil from Sa'udi Arabia via the Trans-Arabian pipeline (Tapline) and its refinery at Az-Zarqa' supplied virtually all the country's energy needs. Sa'udi Arabia stopped supplying Jordan via the Tapline during the war to protest Jordan's tacit support of Iraq during the war. With the UN embargo that followed, however, Jordan became the sole legal recipient of Iraqi oil exports, which typically are imported by tanker truck. As of 1999, Jordanian officials were discussing the possibility of reducing this dependence by importing oil from Sa'udi Arabia or Kuwait. Crude oil imports in 2001 averaged 99,000 barrels per day. Large deposits of oil shale have been found, and exploratory drilling for oil and gas has begun in the eastern desert. The Az-Zarqa' refinery had a capacity 90,400 barrels per day in 2001.

Over 99% of electric power was thermal as of 2000, with hydroelectric power accounting for less than half of one percent. The government electrification plan calls for establishment of a national grid, linking the major cities. A project linking the Jordanian and Egyptian power grids via an underwater cable from Aqaba to Talra was inaugurated in 1999. As of 2001, net installed electrical capacity was 1,460 MW, and electricity generated totaled 6,900 million kWh. Consumption of electricity in 2000 was 7.1 billion kWh.

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