JERUSALEM (JTA) — Jordan is negotiating with Israel to become the first country to buy from its natural gas reserves.
A deal likely would require running a pipeline from Israel to Jordan, The Wall Street Journal reported Wednesday.
On Sunday, Israel approved a plan to export 40 percent of its recently tapped natural gas reserves.
Both Jordan and Israel have suffered from two years of supply shortages following a series of attacks on pipelines from Egypt bringing gas to the two countries. The Egyptian gas supply was never restored to Israel and Jordan is receiving less than 40 percent of its previous gas supply, according to the newspaper.
Jordan also has held talks on natural gas with Iraq and Qatar. Israel is the least attractive deal from a political standpoint, according to the Journal.
“The cheapest option is for Jordan to obtain natural gas from Israel,” Amit Mor, president of Eco Energy Ltd., an Israeli energy consultancy, told the paper. “But Jordan has yet to make a geopolitical decision to buy gas from Israel.”
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