Jordan/Iraq Border Gas Exploration to Start Soon
Posted on 03 February 2012.
Bloomberg reports that BP will start drilling exploratory wells at the Risha natural gas deposit in Jordan, near the border with Iraq, in the coming weeks.
Jordanian Energy Ministry spokesman Fayez Abu Gaoud told the agency, “if it is proven that the volume of gas in the field is feasible for commercial purposes, the development of the gas field will begin immediately”.
Initial BP studies show that production at Risha could exceed 330 million cubic feet a day.
BP agreed in October 2009 to join Jordan’s state-owned National Petroleum Co. to explore and develop Risha, which occupies an area of about 7,000 square kilometers (2,700 square miles). The kingdom has agreed with Iraq to jointly develop the Risha field, Iraqi State Minister Ali al-Dabbagh said last March.
Jordan, which fills almost all of its energy needs through imports, hopes to attract $14 billion of investments for renewable energy, oil shale and nuclear power.