AMMAN, Jordan, Feb. 6 (UPI) -- A Jordanian minister said Amman was working on ways to diversify the energy sector following a weekend explosion on an Egyptian natural gas pipeline.
Saboteurs targeted a natural gas pipeline in the northern Sinai Peninsula last weekend, the Egypt Independent news agency reported. The 750-mile pipeline carries around 90 million cubic feet of natural gas per day.
Jordanian Minister for Energy and Mineral Resources Qutaiba Abu Qura said Amman was exploring options to diversify its energy sector following the attack.
He said Amman had set up a committee with authorities in Qatar to examine the possibility of securing liquefied natural gas supplies from the region, the official Petra news agency reports.
There are plans to explore the Risha natural gas field along the Iraqi border and authorities in Baghdad said they could build a natural gas pipeline to ensure Jordanian energy needs are met, he added. A pipeline from Iraq would likely take five years to complete, however.
Jordan gets about 80 percent of its domestic energy demands met through imported natural resources.
The Egyptian newspaper said gunmen attacked the pipeline though no group claimed responsibility for the incident. It was the 12th attack on the Egyptian pipeline since the country's revolution last year.
