Azerbaijan, Baku, Feb. 10 / Trend A.Tagiyeva /
Jordan is interested in the purchase of the Azerbaijani natural gas and oil, Director of the Planning Department at the Jordanian Energy and Mineral Resources Ministry Mahmoud Al-Ees told Trend today.
"The Jordanian side expressed its desire to import oil and gas from Azerbaijan during the visit of Jordan's King Abdullah II to Azerbaijan in May 2010. Today, the parties are negotiating in that direction," Al-Ees told Trend over the telephone from Amman.
He said if the sides agree, the Azerbaijani oil will be supplied to the Turkish port of Ceyhan and then the Jordanian port of Aqaba via the Mediterranean Sea and Suez Canal.
Al-Ees noted that a Jordanian delegation will soon visit Azerbaijan to discuss the details of a future agreement.
He said the Azerbaijani gas can be delivered to Jordan by the sea route from Turkey and land - by connecting the Azerbaijani-Turkish pipeline to the pan-Arab.
"The Azerbaijani oil supply by sea is not economically beneficial for both countries and the connection of Azerbaijan-Turkey pipeline to the pan-Arab will take time," Al-Ees said.
The construction of the Syrian section of the gas pipeline between the Syrian city of Aleppo and the Turkish city of Kilis, through which Azerbaijani gas will be exported to Syria, will be completed in february, Syria's Deputy Oil Minister Hassan Zainab told Trend earlier. He said that the total length of the gas pipeline between Kilis and Aleppo will hit about 65 kilometers.
The parties agreed to supply 1 billion cubic meters of gas during Syrian President Bashar al‑Assad's visit to Azerbaijan in July 2009. Zainab told Trend that Syria can start importing gas from Azerbaijan in 2011, but the exact date has not been determined yet.
"The exact date has not been determined yet. There is no problem with this issue. We are just waiting when the Turkish side will complete constructing the remaining part of the pipeline between Turkey and Syria," Zainab said. He said that the volume of imported gas will hit 2-3 million cubic meters per day.
The Turkish Energy Ministry told Trend that the construction of the Turkish section of the Kilis-Aleppo pipeline will be completed in early 2012.
"BOTAS announced a tender to construct a sector of the gas pipeline from the town of Kilis to the border with Syria on Dec. 29, 2010. The proposals are accepted until Jan. 28, 2011. The work is expected to be completed within 360 days after the contract is signed and the territory is commissioned," the Ministry said.
According to the report, the project cost will be determined after the contract for the construction site is concluded.