National Petroleum to drill three new wells

AMMAN — The National Petroleum Company (NPC) plans to drill three new wells at Al Risha gas field, according to a statement from the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources on Tuesday.

The new wells aim to ultimately contribute to Jordan’s total energy mix, the statement said, adding that the company has recently increased gas output from 9 million cubic feet per day to 16 million cubic feet per day.

The NPC currently produces 5 per cent of the Kingdom’s daily consumption of natural gas, according to the ministry.

Established in 1995, the NPC has produced some 221 billion cubic feet of natural gas through 2017, according to the statement, which stressed that the future exploration would not need foreign investment.

However, the sum of the NPC’s production over the last 22 years would barely cover Jordan’s natural gas needs for two years at the current consumption rate, the statement added.

The ministry’s Natural Resources Authority has drilled 45 wells since the NPC’s inception, of which 15 are still operational.