Israel Jordan Gas Pipeline
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Israel Jordan Gas Pipeline is a controversial gas pipeline running from Israel to Jordan.
Location
The pipeline connects the Leviathan fields, off the coast of Israel, to Jordan.
Pipeline Details
- Owner: Energean, Noble Energy
- Capacity:
- Length: 65 km / 40.4 mi
- Status: Operating[1]
- Start Year: 2020
Background
Work begun on a 65-kilometer pipeline which was supposed to start bringing gas from Israel to Jordan in early 2020. The Jordanian government says the deal will save hundreds of millions of dollars a year.[2]
The 65-kilometer route stretches from Jordan’s northern borders with Israel to the Mafraq governorate in the northeast. Jordan’s national electricity company NEPCO has signed a $15-billion agreement to buy natural gas from Israel over a 15-year period. The deal is set to proceed despite strong internal opposition from the public and parliament. In less than two years, the gas will be extracted from the Israeli-controlled Leviathan fields in the eastern Mediterranean. The extraction is being led by the US giant Noble Energy. The Israeli government is set to make $8.4 billion from the deal, according to campaigners.[3]
On January 1, 2020 an "experimental supply of natural gas from the Leviathan gas field" was pumped along the Israel-Jordan Gas Pipeline. Jordan's National Electric Power Company (NEPCO) said that the experimental phase of operation was expected to last 3 months.[4]
Opposition
Jordanian society, many of whom are Palestinian refugees, continue to resist official efforts to promote ties with Israel and have been critical of the deal. It's been more than two decades since Jordan signed a peace treaty with Israel but it is still largely unpopular.[2]
In July of 2018, eighteen Jordanian lawmakers spoke in parliament to demand either the cancellation of the Israel-Jordan gas deal or its presentation to parliament to clarify its terms and conditions. Omar Razzaz, Jordan’s prime minister, did not respond to the members’ demands. According to BDS Jordan, a campaign group that supports the boycott of Israel, most members of parliament oppose the deal.[3]
Also in July of 2018, Jordan’s trade unions organized a demonstration in the northern city of Irbid, refusing to work on the pipeline in solidarity with Palestinians. The leaders of several Jordanian professional associations, including the engineers and contractors associations, participated in the sit-in. Dr. Ali al-Abous, president of the Jordan Medical Association and the head of the council of professional associations, stated that the sit-in was an extension of the associations’ refusal to normalize with the occupation, saying that Jordan does not need stolen gas given that it has alternative energy resources.[3]
As of March 2018, members of the Jordanian Bar Association were preparing lawsuits challenging land expropriations along the proposed pipeline route on behalf of farmers and other land owners.[5]
In an interview with Aljazeera, Hisham Boustani of "Enemy's Gas is Occupation", said that the Jordanian money spent on the pipeline should be invested in Jordan on "sources like solar energy."[2]
Upon the inaugural operation of the pipeline, the Islamic Action Front stated “It’s a black day in the history of Jordan and a crime against the nation and a national catastrophe that makes our sovereignty hostage and the energy sector in the hands of the Zionist occupation.”[1]
Levant Basin Dispute
The Leviathan gas field is one a several in the Levant Basin off the coast of Israel, Syria, Lebanon, Egypt, and Palestine. The Levant Basin fields have been a source of continual dispute since their discovery in 2009. Upon discovery, Israeli officials immediately asserted that “most” of the newly confirmed gas reserves lay “within Israeli territory.” In doing so, they ignored contrary claims by Lebanon, Syria, Cyprus, and the Palestinians.[6]
Articles and resources
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Suleiman Al-Khalidi. "Jordan gets first natural gas supplies from Israel". U.S. Retrieved 2020-08-12.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Work on Israel-Jordan gas pipeline begins despite public refusal, Al Jazeera, accessed September 2018
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 Jordanians refuse to work on the Israel-Jordan gas pipeline, Electronic Intifada, July 26, 2018
- ↑ "Experimental supply of Israeli natural gas reaches Jordan". The Jerusalem Post | JPost.com. Retrieved 2020-08-12.
- ↑ Mohammad Ersan, Landowners waiting for next step in Jordan-Israel gas pipeline, Al-Monitor, March 29, 2018
- ↑ The Often Overlooked Role of Natural Gas in the Israel-Palestine Conflict, Mother Jones, accessed September 2018
