Spanish-Jordanian coalition to build oil product terminal

AMMAN — Jordan on Monday signed an agreement for building a $174 million terminal for petroleum products in the capital.

Under the agreement, a coalition of Spain's OHL Industrial S.L.U. and Jordan’s MID Contracting Company LLC will build the terminal, which is funded by a grant from the Abu Dhabi Fund for Development.

"This is a very important agreement as the terminal will increase Jordan's reserves of petroleum products and it is part of the government's strategy to increase reserves to meet the rising demand," Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources Mohammad Hamed said after the signing of the agreement with representatives of the coalition.

The terminal will have a total capacity of 340,000 metric tonnes for petroleum products such as gasoline, diesel and jet fuel and a 10,000 metric tonne capacity for liquefied petroleum gas, which is used in households for cooking, said the minister.

The terminal will be located in Madouna, east of Amman, according to the minister.

Hamed noted that construction work will start soon and the project is expected to be completed two years after that.

The minister added that Jordan has met all conditions set by donors and offered tenders for the project in local and foreign newspapers as well as in UAE newspapers.

The Spanish company and its Jordanian partner were selected out of 13 companies who were shortlisted from 51 bidders, said the minister.

The minister noted that the ministry selected ILF Consulting Engineers, a German company, to provide consultations and supervise the implementation of the project.

Jordan, which imports about 96 per cent of its energy needs annually, also plans to build a terminal for liquefied natural gas in Aqaba. The terminal, which is expected to be ready early 2015, will help Jordan increase reserve of natural gas for power generation, especially after a complete halt of natural gas supplies from Egypt since early 2014.