CAIRO: Egypt will have repaired the natural gas pipeline that delivers gas to Jordan, Israel and Lebanon within 10 days, Jordan's Energy Minister Khalid Tugan said on Wednesday. He told the Jordanian state-run Petra news agency that “the Egyptian side is expected to repair the gas pipeline within 7 to 10 days before resuming supplies to Jordan.” He added that Jordan “currently has 245,000 tons of heavy oil and diesel, which are enough to cover the country's needs for 65 days if the gas supplies do not resume.” On early Tuesday morning, Egypt reported that there was an explosion along the country's Sinai natural gas pipeline near the northern Sinai town of al-Arish, local reports indicated. Egyptian television channel OTV confirmed the reports. It is the fourth such explosion in recent months on the pipeline. “Jordanian officials will visit Iraq next week to discuss means to provide the kingdom with oil… and import gas,” Tuqan said. Egypt also supplies about 40 percent of Israel's demand for natural gas, which it uses to produce electricity. Jordan, which buys 95 percent of its energy needs, imports about 240 million cubic feet (6.8 million cubic metres) of Egyptian gas a day, or 80 percent of its electricity requirements. Amman and Cairo are renegotiating the 2002 gas deal, under which Egypt used to sell gas to Jordan at a discounted price — half of the market price, or $3 (2.16 euros) per million British Thermal Units (1,000 cubic feet of gas equals 1.027 million BTU). BM
