Page 4 - MEOG Week 48 2021

MEOG COMMENTARY MEOG

Jordan to launch new

exploration effort

Amid recent licensing round failures, Jordan’s state-backed approach
is seen as a prudent means of demonstrating the country’s potential.

JORDAN JORDAN intends to begin a new phase of explo- nine-month study of the two blocks in 2012 but
ration in the south-east of the country amid declined to enter a longer-term deal.
efforts by the National Petroleum Co. (NPC) The Jafr block covers 10,662 square km
WHAT: to increase output at the Hamza oilfield to the directly to the south of Sirhan, while the
Jordan’s NPC is set to north. 10,841-square km Dead Sea block lies in the
begin new exploration Speaking on state TV this week, Minister for central west along the border with Israel, and
efforts in the south-east Environment Saleh Al-Kharabsheh said that the North Highlands and West Safawi blocks are
of the country as it works exploration work would be carried out by NPC located in the north and border with Syria.
to expand output at the in the Jafr and Sirhan concessions, which were Excluded from both the 2017 licensing round
only producing oilfield. named among nine ‘open areas for exploration’ and the latest effort is the Risha block in the far
in promotional materials published earlier this west – source of the kingdom’s only current gas
WHY: year by the Ministry of Energy and Mineral production. BP relinquished control to the gov-
Recent bids to attract Resources (MEMR). ernment in 2014 after five years of unproductive
interest from IOCs have Al-Kharabsheh added that the state oil firm is exploration. A four-year production-sharing
failed to drum up interest currently carrying out a detailed study “to con- agreement (PSA) was awarded to UK-registered
following the departure of sider drilling three medium-depth wells at the Egyptian-owned company IPG in March 2016
BP and Shell last decade. Jafr site”. that also covered the East Safawi block. However,
In April, head of the MEMR Hala Zawati said further updates have not been forthcoming and
WHAT NEXT: that the Azraq, Sirhan, Jafr, West Safawi, Dead the company’s UK subsidiary was dissolved a
Amman is dependent Sea, North highlands, Sirhan Development, month after the contract was signed.
on imports for around Petra and Rum acreages would all be opened up State-owned NPC has since been awarded
90% of its oil and gas for exploration, though none are understood to a 50-year contract for Risha as well as PSAs for
demand and strategic have yet been apportioned. East Safawi and the Hamza field, where the com-
relationships with its All but Sirhan Development, Petra and Rum pany recently completed the first phase of a pro-
neighbours will continue were included in an ill-fated licensing round in ject to expand production.
to be the norm even if a 2017, which was extended following a lack of In July, Prime Minister and Minister of
major find is made. interest. Defence Bisher Al Khasawneh formally initi-
Several have been extensively explored – by ated work phase two of the rehabilitation pro-
heavyweights of the calibre of BP and Royal ject which has so far increased output at the field
Dutch Shell, both of which withdrew during the from just 5 barrels per day to around 1,500-2,000
first half of the decade – with extensive 2D and bpd. The first phase, which was launched in
limited 3D seismic surveys conducted. December 2020, delivered a total of 52,000 bar-
All the areas have been explored before to rels of oil to Jordan’s sole refinery at Zarqa, which
varying degrees – with the number of wells is currently undergoing an expansion project to
drilled ranging from three at Sirhan to 20 in the raise capacity from 100,000 bpd to 120,000 bpd.
Dead Sea area, according to material on each At the time, Zawati said that the second phase
block published by MEMR. would see NPC rehabilitate existing wells to
Past information indicates that more than increase production, with tests already carried
half of the Dead Sea wells have yielded oil and gas out to assess the output potential of two of the
shows, as have several of those drilled at most of four wells. She added that Jordanian consump-
the blocks. The Petra and Rum blocks are located tion sits at around 140,000 bpd, the vast majority
in the far south-west. of which is supplied by imports.
The adjacent Azraq and Sirhan licences –
covering respectively 6,311 and 7,970 square Imports
km in the central east along the Saudi border – 10,000 bpd of crude is trucked over the bor-
were also previously offered in a three-block bid der from Iraq under an annually renewable
round in 2014. However, with the tender coin- deal between the two governments. Talks also
ciding with a protracted oil price crash, awards remain ongoing between Amman and Baghdad
were never made. Shell agreed to conduct a to reach a final agreement on the cross-border

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