Russia sees Jordanian interest in LNG

MOSCOW, March 28 (UPI) -- Russian state media reports Monday that gas company Gazprom received word from the government of Jordan it was interested in buying liquefied natural gas.

State news agency Itar-TASS reports Jordan is ready to buy LNG from Gazprom.

"The Jordanian side asked the Russian side to consider the possibility of LNG supplies to Jordan at preferential prices," the news agency reported, referencing documents it's seen related to the proposal." The Jordanian side suggests that Gazprom would supply liquefied natural gas to Jordan from the portfolio of Gazprom group."

Jordan in the past has struggled to find a reliable source of natural gas in part because of downstream problems in Egypt. Jordanian companies Arab Potash and Jordan Bromine secured a total gross quantity of 66 billion cubic feet of natural gas from the Tamar field, located off the Israeli coast, in 2014.

The partners managing Tamar estimate the field holds up to 10 trillion cubic feet of natural gas.

According to the Russian news agency, the Jordanian government now wants to set up joint ventures with Russian counterparts for the potential sale of mineral resources and the possible future exploration of Jordanian shale resources.

In 2008, Jordan and Estonia agreed to funnel shale oil to the Attarat power station, which is expected to begin service in 2017. The plant should have an operating capacity of 540 megawatts, officials say.

The Jordanian government says it estimates it holds about 34 billion barrels in shale oil that it expects to tap into with the help of Estonian investments. Estonian officials have described Jordan's shale potential as enormous.

There was no immediate statement available from Jordanian resources about the possibility for an LNG deal with Russia.