June 24, 2024 – Today, Monday, the Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources, Dr. Saleh Al-Kharabsheh, participated in the visit of the ministerial team formed by Prime Minister Dr. Bisher Al-Khasawneh, to Zarqa Governorate to review what has been accomplished in government projects during the past 25 years, within the framework of the Kingdom’s silver jubilee celebrations. For His Majesty King Abdullah II to sit on the throne.

The projects completed and under implementation in Zarqa Governorate in the energy and mineral wealth sector in the field of natural gas were the implementation of the natural gas pipeline project from Aqaba to the north of the Kingdom and its expansions (it passes through Zarqa Governorate), which began in 2008 and is still ongoing. The project has had an impact in providing the cost of electrical energy and basic energy requirements necessary for economic development, improving the degree of safe energy supply in the Kingdom, and supplying national industries with natural gas as an energy generator, which would reduce the cost of production, contribute to raising the ability of local industries to compete, and provide additional sources of natural gas to meet the needs of the electricity sector. Industries and distribution in industrial cities, and providing job opportunities for the Jordanian workforce.

As for the projects that are still being implemented in this sector, they are the delivery of natural gas to cities and industrial clusters, as the Ministry is currently working in accordance with the national program to deliver natural gas to cities and industrial clusters, which falls within the priorities of the economic modernization vision. The Jordanian-Egyptian Fajr Company - the company that owns and operates the pipeline - the main natural gas supply from Aqaba to the north of the Kingdom – and, in coordination with the Ministry of Energy, - to carry out the necessary procedures to deliver natural gas to the industrial clusters in the Hashemite District in Zarqa, as the project - expected to end in the year 2026 - aims to reduce the cost of production and increase the competitiveness of Jordanian industries.

Among the projects still under implementation is the project to establish natural gas networks in Amman and Zarqa, which is expected to be completed in 2029.

In the field of electricity, the Zarqa Electrical Power Generation Station was implemented in 2018 by ACWA Power to increase the generating capacities of electrical energy to meet the electrical energy needs in all governorates of the Kingdom. Also, during the year 2006, the first station of the Samra Electrical Power Generation Company was operated, followed by the operation of the station. The second, third, and fourth occurred during the years 2008, 2015, and 2018, respectively, with the aim of increasing the generating capacities of electrical energy and meeting the electrical energy needs in all governorates of the Kingdom.

In the field of rural electrification, the implementation of 1,513 sites has been completed to serve approximately 4,108 homes as part of projects to deliver electricity from the electrical networks to the sites at the expense of the rural penny until the end of the year 2023, at a financial cost estimated at 10,793,573 Jordanian dinars.

Projects have been completed to install solar cell systems connected to the electrical network for the homes of beneficiaries of the National Aid Fund in the region, to deliver electricity to 303 beneficiary homes during the year 2023, and to replace 26,781 energy-saving lighting units within the project to replace traditional lighting units with energy-saving LED units for municipalities, since Year 2019 to date.

The projects that are still being implemented in the field of rural electrification in the governorate are projects to deliver electricity from the electrical networks to sites at the expense of the rural penny, as since the beginning of the current year 2024 until now, electricity has been delivered to 80 sites to serve approximately 113 homes at a financial cost amounting to 259,425 thousand Jordanian dinars, and work is still underway to implement projects to install solar cell systems connected to the grid for the homes of beneficiaries of the National Aid Fund and disabled soldiers , as implementation has been carried out for 140 homes, and work is underway to replace 10,919 energy-saving LED units, as part of conventional lighting unit replacement project LED energy-saving modules.

Regarding the renewable energy sector in Zarqa Governorate, four projects were implemented, the first of which was the implementation of the solar cell project in Zarqa, which has been under commercial implementation since April 2015 by ATERSA (with a Spanish debt swap grant) with a turnkey contract, with the size of the project (MWAC) (2.17 MWDC). The second project is the solar cell project in the Azraq region, which has been under commercial implementation since April 2015 by Ennera, and its size is (MWAC): 2.5 (MWDC3). The third project is the expansion of the electricity generation project using solar cells in Blue through the second European grant, a project that has been in commercial operation since February 2020 by the Qarar Company consortium. The size of the project (MWAC): 5 (5.74 MWDC), and the three projects produce 14 GWh annually of electrical energy, and their impact is the creation of approximately 285 A temporary job during the implementation of the three projects and six permanent jobs.

As for the fourth project, which is still under re-bid, it is the expansion of the electricity generation project using solar cells in Azraq through a grant (Spanish Debt Swap) with a size of (MWAC): 1.

The completed projects in the energy efficiency sector, implemented by the Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency  Fund, include supporting the installation of solar cell systems for 1,380 homes, supporting the installation of solar cell systems for 755 homes, replacing 5,406 lighting units in the homes sector, and implementing the energy efficiency and renewable energy measures program in Medium and small factories in 17 factories in the governorate, implementing an energy efficiency, heating, cooling and renewable energy program for 4 schools in the governorate, installing solar cells for 71 different houses of worship, implementing a project to implement energy efficiency and renewable energy in one municipality, and implementing a solar cell installation project in One of the public benefit institutions, it has installed solar cells for 23 farms in the governorate in cooperation with the Agricultural Credit Corporation from 2015 to date.

In the natural resources sector, a project was implemented to clean, maintain, and inspect oil wells in the Hamza oil field in the governorate, increasing the quantities of oil production from it during the year 2019 and implementing a project to improve the infrastructure and environment of the field itself during the year 2020 by rehabilitating the site’s infrastructure of tanks, pipes, and pumps. And housing for workers and other facilities, and connecting the electricity network to the Hamza oil field.

The Ministry continues to operate the wells of the Hamza field, pump oil to the collection tanks, load the tanks with oil and send them to the Jordanian oil refinery, and maintain the road leading to the field. Regarding the project of drilling new oil wells in the Azraq region and the Hamza field in the Zarqa Governorate, implemented during the year 2024, drilling has been completed. The first well is undergoing inspections, and the second one is currently being drilled.