Jordan, which imports almost all of its energy supplies, is seeking to buy crude oil and natural gas from Azerbaijan.
“Azerbaijan is negotiating with Turkey about exporting gas though Turkish territory and into the regional Arab Gas Network, to which Jordan is linked,” Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev said after talks in the Azaeri capital, Baku.
He met there with Jordan's Minister of Industry and Trade Hani al-Mulki, who said Jordan is seeking to diversify its supply sources amid an increase in prices for oil and gas, Bloomberg reports quoting Petra news agency.
Jordan imports about 200 million cubic meters of gas each year from Egypt to generate about 80 percent of its electricity needs. These imports were interrupted for more than a month after an explosion on Feb. 5 damaged part of Egypt's pipeline system during protests in the North African country.
A switch to alternative supplies during this halt in gas imports cost Jordan about $28 million a week, Energy Ministry spokesman Mahmoud al-Ees said on March 16.
Jordan forecasts that domestic fuel consumption will rise to 10 million metric tons of oil equivalent by 2020, compared with its current level of 7.5 million tons. The government estimates that electricity demand will almost double over the same period to 5,200 megawatts.
