Jordanian Activists Protest Energy Deal With Israel

A map of Israel's natural gas lines and reservoirs.

Hundreds of Jordanian activists protested on September 30 in Amman against the Kingdom’s $10 billion Leviathan energy deal with Israel, sparking fears of a domestic backlash that could paralyze the agreement. On September 26, Jordan’s National Electric Power Company (NEPCO) and Israeli and American firms signed the deal, which could satisfy all of Jordan’s energy needs for fifteen years. The arrangement centers around Israel’s offshore Leviathan reservoir, which was discovered in 2010 and holds an estimated 622 billion cubic meters (BCM) of natural gas.

Members of Jordan’s trade unions, political parties opposed to the 1994 peace treaty with Israel, and the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement attended the demonstration, waving signs and shouting slogans such as "Gas from the Zionists is a disgrace.” Activists said they were planning further protests in the hope of impeding the deal, while Information Minister Mohamed Momani insisted that the deal would save Jordan $600 million without rendering the state dependent on Israel.

NEPCO, the Israeli Delek Group, and the Texas company Noble Energy signed a U.S.-backed, nonbinding agreement in September 2014, promising to provide 45 BCM of gas for over fifteen years - about 8.5 million cubic meters (MCM) per day - as well as an option of 1.4 MCM per day. While the groups hoped to conclude the arrangement by the end of 2014, Israeli political disputes delayed the agreement; in March 2016 the Israeli Supreme Court blocked the deal, to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s dismay.

Jordan, an energy importer, is heavily reliant on fossil fuels for its energy supply. The Kingdom imported about 865 MCM of natural gas in 2013, according to CIA estimates. In contrast, Israel exported nearly 5 billion kilowatt-hours in 2013 and hopes to build a pipeline to deliver gas to Cyprus, Greece, and the rest of Europe. Other potential customers for Leviathan’s gas include Egypt and possibly Turkey, and the Palestinian Authority even considered buying Leviathan gas for a power plant in Jenin, in the West Bank.