Iraq, Jordan eye natural gas pipeline

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AMMAN, Jordan, June 15 (UPI) -- The Iraqi and Jordanian governments plan to meet in July to discuss construction of a natural gas pipeline, officials in Amman said.

Due to current unreliable sources of imported natural gas, the Jordanian government had considered securing natural gas supplies from its neighbors. Last week, Iraq approved a memorandum of understanding that spells out the terms for a natural gas pipeline to the port of Aqaba.

The Jordanian Energy Ministry said officials are expected to have meetings in July geared toward technical reviews of the project, The Jordan Times reports.

The newspaper adds that the project won't solve Jordan's immediate energy concerns. The pipeline from Iraq could take five years to build.

Amman this week sent a delegation to Qatar to push for a bilateral natural gas deal to secure alternate supplies.

Utility companies in Jordan warned that power cuts may be in the forecast during the summer months in part because of problems with natural gas supplies from Egypt.

An April attack on a pipeline in the Sinai Peninsula disrupted gas supplies from Egypt to Israel and Jordan for the 14th time since the Egyptian revolution in early 2011.