Jordan Bans Israeli Gas Imports
Natural gas extraction promises to be hugely profitable for Israeli energy companies. (Wikimedia Commons)
Jordan’s parliament unanimously approved a draft law banning all gas imports from Israel, Reuters reports. Parliament passed the draft law on January 19 following widespread protests and public discontent against the gas imports.
Over the weekend, hundreds of protesters rallied in Amman. Their signs read, “The gas of the enemy is an occupation. Down with the gas deal,” Al Jazeera reports.
Israel began gas exports to Jordan on January 1. Reuters reports that the Jordanian state-owned National Electricity Company and Noble Energy Inc., a US-Israeli consortium, struck a $10 billion deal in 2016. Under the agreement, Noble Energy agreed to export gas to Jordan for 15 years.
Israel’s energy capabilities developed rapidly in 2010 after discovery of natural gas field Leviathan, according to Reuters. Leviathan could provide 60 billion cubic meters of natural gas over 15 years, alongside an additional 25.3 billion cubic meters from other fields. The total value is nearly $19.5 billion, Reuters reports.
The recent strain threatens to damage Jordanian-Israeli relations, which have been unusually tense over the last year. In November, King Abdullah of Jordan remarked, “The Jordanian-Israeli relationship is at an all time low,” Haaretz reports.
Historically, Israel and Jordan have a strange relationship. The countries fought a war that continued until 1994 peace treaty. Since this settlement, both countries have mostly cooperated.
That might be changing. The Jordanian public remains fiercely opposed to Israeli energy imports, despite potential economic benefits. Many fear Jordan will become dependent on Israeli energy as gas imports represent a huge portion of Jordanian energy supply. According to the International Energy Agency, natural gas grew from five percent to 36 percent of Jordan’s total primary energy supply from 2014 to 2017.
A protester told Al Jazeera, “We are here protesting against the gas deal which has been signed in 2016 without the knowledge of the parliament, and we want to send a message... we say enough with the humiliation, enough shame, enough selling our homelands.”
That protester is not alone. According to poll data from the Arab Barometer, 42 percent of Jordanians view Israel as “the prime threat to stability in the region.” This sentiment might result from ethnic demographics as roughly two-thirds of Jordanians are of Palestinian descent, according to the Middle East Quarterly.
The gas import controversy highlights the shaky Jordanian-Israeli relationship. As Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his allies court voter support, Palestine is an easy scapegoat. Among Jordanians of Palestinian descent, crackdowns on Palestinian autonomy are unacceptable. Under public pressure, the Jordanian government might adopt a more hawkish stance against its neighbor.