Gov’t looking into fuel distribution, gold exploration companies’ requests

AMMAN — Jordan has started looking into companies’ requests to distribute oil derivatives in the Kingdom, an official said on Saturday.

The Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources has begun examining requests submitted to get licences to distribute fuel derivatives after the ministry floated a tender that ended by February 28th, seeking requests from interested companies, Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources Saleh Kharabsheh told The Jordan Times on Saturday.

“This is part of the government’s plan to restructure the oil distribution sector and increase competition in the field,” Kharabsheh said.

In 2016, the government signed deals with the French oil company Total, Jordan’s Manaseer Oil & Gas and the Jordan Petroleum Refinery Company (JPRC) to equally divide the distribution of oil derivatives between the three companies.

Following the deals, the companies started to import oil derivatives from international markets, putting an end to the JPRC monopoly over diesel imports.

According to the latest available figures, the JPRC currently refines 75 per cent of Jordan’s fuel product needs, with the government sourcing the remainder by importing already refined fuel from abroad.

Jordan imports about 97 per cent of its energy needs annually.

Also on Saturday, the ministry announced that it received seven requests of interest by several mining companies to explore “promising” gold deposits in the Wadi Araba area in southern Jordan.

The requests will be studied by a committee formed by the ministry after which shortlisted bidders will be announced, the minister said on Saturday.

He indicated that there are “promising” signs of gold availability, adding that the ministry was ready to cooperate with qualified companies to explore gold.