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Ammon News - Lower House Energy and Mineral Resources Committee approved a draft law to abolish ratification of the production-sharing agreement to explore for oil and assess its exploration , development and production.

The deal was signed by Natural Resources Authority (NRA) and Canada’s Ammonite Energy International Inc. (AMO-V) to carry out oil exploration operations in southern Jafr district and the Kingdom's central regions for 2017.

Chairing the committee's meeting on Sunday, its head MP Talal Ensour, urged need to verify "seriousness" of companies wishing to explore for oil with the "utmost" standards of accuracy, by harnessing their previous experiences in this field.

Ensour noted the mandating reasons for the decision to revoke the agreement's ratification was due to AMO-V's failure to implement its contractual obligations to explore for oil in Jafr region and Jordan's central bloc, which constitutes "a material breach" of the agreement clauses.

For his part, Minister of Energy, Saleh Kharabsheh, said the draft law to revoke the agreement's ratification law was due driven by AMO-V's failure to implement its contractual obligations according to the terms of the production-sharing agreement in Jafr region and central Jordan areas.

The company, after date of the agreement's entry into force, and its issuance in the Official Gazette on June 2, 2015, did not implement any of its contractual obligations despite the ministry's follow-up with AMO-V, the minister said.

Kharabsheh noted the ministry affirmed need to adhere to the agreement's provisions, adding that the company justified its inability to comply with this deal by fluctuation of oil prices.

In accordance with provisions of Article 32 of the oil production-sharing agreement, the government abolished the deal based on its powers, as the company failed to implement its obligations.