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Jordan, Egypt review gas deal

CAIRO, Aug. 29 (UPI) -- Egypt expects to get more money through a revised deal for natural gas shipments to Jordan, a leading energy official said.

Jordanian authorities said in letters to the Egyptian Petroleum Ministry they were ready to renegotiate the price of natural gas imports, Egypt's state-run news agency MENA reports.

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Hassan al-Mahdy, president of Egypt's Natural Gas Holding Co., said the letter puts both countries one step closer to better energy ties.

"Egypt will make more profits under the new agreement," he added.

A formal price mechanism will be announced once final details are hammered out, Mahdy said, but Cairo could make another $250 million in profits each year through a new agreement with Jordan.

Militants, exploiting the security vacuum that developed after a February revolution forced Hosni Mubarak out of office, have launched a series of attacks on a natural gas pipeline connecting Egypt to Israel and Jordan.

Jordan imports most of the energy it needs. The government had said it was starting to view Egypt as an unreliable energy partner given the number of attacks on energy infrastructure.

Jordan is pressing ahead with a clean energy strategy envisioned during the next decade for the Arab kingdom.

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The European Commission said it was designating almost half of its $102 million assistance package toward Jordan's renewable energy efforts.

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