House speaker asks PM for details of Israel gas deal

AMMAN — Lower House Speaker Atef Tarawneh on Tuesday asked Prime Minister Hani Mulki to provide the House with the gas agreement signed with Israel, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported. 

Tarawneh made the request in a memo sent to the prime minister. 

The National Electric Power Company (NEPCO) has signed a 15-year agreement with Noble Energy, a Houston-based company that holds the largest share in the Israeli Leviathan gas field, to receive natural gas supplies at a cost of $10 billion. 

Tarawneh said Parliament did not receive any requests for public discussion of the agreement, and this is why it was not listed on Tuesday’s session schedule. 

Last Sunday, 17 deputies sent a memo to the House speaker to ask the government for the agreement. 

Last year, the government said the agreement with Noble Energy will cover “40 per cent of the Kingdom’s needs of gas and save around $600 million annually”.

NEPCO says the deal entails importing 300 million cubic feet of gas daily.

Several activist groups have denounced the deal as a means to normalise relations with Israel.

Jordan and Israel signed a peace treaty in 1994.