Egypt expects to resume gas exports to Jordan by 2021

Egypt's Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources Tarek El Mola said Egypt is expected to resume natural gas exports to Jordan by 2021.

"We have made new discoveries of several gas fields and this will help us gradually meet our rising local demand and then be able to resume our exports," El Mola said in remarks to the press on the sidelines of the Jordan International Energy Summit.

Egypt has recently signed 66 concession agreements to increase its gas output and it will make several announcements very soon of new discoveries of gas fields, he added.

He added that Al Zohr gas field, which was discovered recently, will start production in December of 2017, which will increase output.

Egypt's current production of natural gas stands at 4 billion cubic feet (BCF) per day, while its needs amount to around 5.2 bcf per day, which forces it to resort to imports.

By 2021, Egypt will be able to produce around 6 bcf per day due to the increase in production and rehabilitation of many fields, he said.

Jordan used to get around 80 percent of its needs of natural gas from Egypt. Gas supply was repeatedly disrupted and came to a complete halt in early 2014.

Jordan imports about 97 percent of its energy needs annually.