Ammon News -

Prime Minister, Dr. Bishr Khasawneh, inaugurated on Wednesday, activities and operations of rehabilitating wells of Hamza oil field in Azraq district, which raised its production quantities from 5 oil barrels per day to between 1,500 to 2,000 barrels per day.

The output of the first experimental phase of the development operations amounted to about 52,000 barrels, which were supplied to the Jordan Petroleum Refinery Company (JPRC) in Zarqa.

Khasawneh, at the opening ceremony of the 2nd phase of Hamza field development, said the gov't hopes more exploration studies and development work in the Hamza field will be made, which would also cover other "promising" areas by national competencies to the extent necessary to advance the sector.
The PM expressed happiness at this stage of the development work of Hamza field, which has been suspended since 1989.

The PM said: "We must exhaust all prospects to reach the optimal and best use of our national capabilities, including this field and national resources that would support process of development and self-reliance that Jordan pursues in accordance with the Royal visions to reach self-reliance goals."

Lauding efforts made by the national teams working in the field, he expressed hope to increase exploration operations, whether in the fields of oil, gas, or other national resources in Jordan.

Khasawneh said Jordan is on the threshold of the second phase of developing existing wells in this field, which will not cover exploring new ones.

The daily production of Hamza field of oil ranges from 1,500 to 2,000 barrels per day, or 1.5 percent of the Kingdom's daily consumption, which reaches up to about 135 thousand barrels, the PM said.

In this regard, he said Jordan "is still far away from a position to achieve self-sufficiency in its oil needs."

The PM also noted production from Hamza oil field has jumped from 5 barrels per day to about 2, 000 barrels with rehabilitation work for existing wells, hoping to raise production capacity and make more rehabilitation operations in other fields to enhance Jordan's efforts in the context of the self-reliance policy.

The PM also noted Jordan has embarked on a stage aimed to achieve sustainable development, remove many distortions in the energy sector, and launch mechanisms to deal with the existing natural resources in the Kingdom, to be harnessed in the national development process.

Khasawneh wished success for the efforts exerted in the energy sector and the comprehensive development process led by His Majesty King Abdullah II and HRH Crown Prince Al Hussein bin Abdullah II in various fields.

The PM announced he will continue his field visits to the Kingdom's governorates to check on projects and aspects of economic activity by networking with the private and productive sectors, to reach the "best" ways to empower various economic activities, and small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).

On future plans, the PM stressed the importance of re-launching some major projects that had been suspended or delayed, or have stumbled in the course of their implementation, to move towards achieving goals that restore "true and complete" hope and optimism among the Jordanian citizen.

This scheme would also achieve development prospects that are reflected in improving the citizens' living standards, the premier said.
For her part, Energy Minister Hala Zawati said rehabilitation was carried out nearly 30 years of halting drilling in the oil field, which saw a decline in production quantities to the "lowest" level, by Jordan Petroleum Refinery Company (JPRC) teams, who carried out the development work and achieved the "distinguished" increase in production quantities.

The minister said the process to rehabilitate Hamza oil field and raise its production capacity had extended for two years within two phases, adding the first focused on renovating the field's infrastructure, which was opened in December 2020.

As for the second stage, rehabilitating the field's existing wells aimed to increase their production quantities and tests were conducted that focused on developing output in two out of four producing wells, she said, noting the JPRC succeeded in raising the wells' production capacity by a range of 1500-2000 barrels per day.
Zawati said this is the first time that Jordan's oil production has reached these quantities, which is expected to provide the state Treasury with about $40 million annually.

Zawati pointed out that Jordan's daily consumption of oil derivatives is about 140,000 barrels per day of oil, and that the new production quantities are equivalent to 1.5 percent of the Kingdom's consumption, stressing that "Jordan is continuing to work on developing oil production, whether at the Hamza field or in other sites that showed strong evidence of oil reservoirs in the Kingdom."
The work in the Hamza field is an important development for the national economy in terms of increasing contribution of local energy sources to the total energy mix in line with the comprehensive strategy for the energy sector 2020-2030 with its main "self-reliance" goal, the minister said.

Regarding the future plans related to Hamza field, Zawati said work is underway on a technical evaluation of the entire site through an analysis of seismic surveys using "modern and advanced" technologies and software, the results of which will help in expanding technical operations outside the current wells area.