Jordan aims to get LNG by 2014

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AMMAN, Jordan, June 18 (UPI) -- Qatar is a leading candidate to provide liquefied natural gas to Jordan as early as 2014, an energy minister official said from Amman.

Recent talks between Jordan and Qatar on LNG were described as positive and a source in the Jordanian Energy Ministry said, on condition of anonymity, that the final issue is down to price, The Jordan Times reports.

Egypt had supplied Jordan with a portion of its natural gas needs. A series of pipeline explosions since the 2011 Egyptian revolution, however, have pushed Egyptian gas supplies to less than 10 percent of their estimated 300 million cubic foot capacity, the newspaper notes.

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

The Jordanian government had considered securing natural gas supplies from its neighbors as part of a diversification strategy. In early June, 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 during the weekend said the kingdom was committed to building an LNG terminal at the port of Aqaba as early as 2014.