Stained-glass illustration in blue glass of a robot and towers at the dawn of the infrastructure singularity

Sector guide 01 of 22 · Version 1.1

Oil, Gas and Power in Jordan

The bridge fuels that keep the lights on while a new energy system is built.

$15.1bn: forward investment in its own projects
23: projects in this guide
7: in or linked to Aqaba

The sector today

Oil, Gas and Power in Jordan

Jordan imports most of its oil and gas, and natural gas still generates most of its electricity: 58% in 2024, with oil shale at 15% and renewables at almost 27%. The country now wants to produce far more of that energy at home.

The Risha field in the eastern desert is the centre of that plan. Its concession was extended to 2061 in June 2026, with output targeted at 418 million cubic feet a day by 2030 and 810 million by 2035, and a pipeline to the Arab Gas Pipeline. Invest Jordan reports initial findings of about 12 trillion cubic feet of gas in place.

Around Risha sit the projects that move and use that gas: an LNG terminal in Aqaba, new gas-fired power plants, a refinery upgrade, city gas networks and an oil pipeline from Iraq. This guide sets out where the sector stands, the projects in the Jordan PPP project register, and how gas and power connect to the singularity.

58%: Share of Jordan's electricity generated from natural gas in 2024, down from 61% a year earlier.
15%: Share of electricity generated from oil shale in 2024, from the Attarat plant and its own mine.
810: Million cubic feet of gas a day targeted at the Risha field by 2035, nearly double the 2030 target of 418 million.
12 tcf: Estimated gas in place at the Risha field from initial findings, as reported by Invest Jordan.

The singularity

Gas is the bridge to the singularity

The infrastructure singularity is the point where roads, grids, ports and water networks become one connected, intelligent system, built by robotics, run by artificial intelligence and financed by tokenization. Gas, pipelines and power plants keep that system running while sunlight and storage take over.

Artificial intelligence: Models reservoirs to place each new well, predicts demand, and dispatches gas plants alongside solar and batteries so that the grid stays stable at the lowest cost.
Robotics: Drones and crawlers inspect hundreds of kilometres of pipeline, tanks and jetties, and automated drilling rigs speed up the well campaigns that Risha needs.
Tokenization: Pipelines, terminals and power plants earn steady fees under long-term contracts. Tokenized stakes let more investors share in that income.
Compute: A developer has announced an AI data center campus at Risha with its own gas-fired power, showing how domestic gas can host compute near the wellhead.
Transition: Gas plants built today can be adapted to burn hydrogen blends later, so the assets financed now can serve the cleaner system that replaces them.

Flagship projects

The projects that lead the sector

Pipeline · Iraq to Aqaba
Basra to Aqaba Oil Pipeline
A pipeline of about 1,700 km, valued at US$8.5 billion, that would carry up to 1 million barrels a day of Iraqi crude from Haditha to Aqaba. Work on the Basra to Haditha section in Iraq started in May 2026, and both governments have since pressed for the Jordanian leg.
Tendering · Zarqa
Zarqa Refinery 4th Expansion
A US$2 billion upgrade of Jordan's only refinery, re-scoped in 2026 to 73,000 barrels a day, with units that bring products to international standards and turn heavy residues into light fuels. The tender was re-launched to qualified bidders in September 2025.
Pipeline · Mafraq
Risha to Al Khanasri Gas Pipeline and Processing Plant
About 300 km of pipeline and a new processing plant, valued at about US$987 million, to carry Risha gas to the national network. Sized for 500 million cubic feet a day, it drew expressions of interest in September 2026.
Under way · Al Khanasri, Mafraq
Etihad CCGT Gas Plant (IPP7, 700 MW)
A US$900 million combined-cycle plant developed by Etihad Development Company under a 25-year agreement with NEPCO. A gas supply agreement was signed in April 2026, AIIB has proposed a US$300 million loan, and construction is expected to begin by the end of 2026.
Under way · Aqaba
Sheikh Sabah LNG Terminal
A permanent onshore regasification unit of up to 700 million cubic feet a day, with storage and send-out, to replace today's floating unit. The foundation stone was laid in July 2026 and completion is targeted for mid-2027.
Pipeline · Amman and Zarqa
Amman to Zarqa Gas Distribution Network
A US$550 million network of about 142 km of steel backbone and more than 11,000 km of low-pressure pipes, planned to connect about 920,000 households by year six. The Ministry of Energy offers it to private investors.

Every project

23 projects in Jordan’s pipeline

Values in US dollars; * estimated where no figure has been published. Rows in grey sit in another sector and connect to this one.

Project	Location	Stage	Value
Basra-Aqaba Oil Pipeline (Iraq-Jordan)	Rumaila and Haditha	Pipeline	$8.5bn
Zarqa Refinery 4th Expansion	Zarqa	Tendering	$2bn
Risha, Al-Khansari Gas Pipeline & Processing Plant	Eastern Jordan	Pipeline	$987m
Etihad CCGT Gas Plant (IPP7, 700 MW)	Al Khanasri	Under way	$900m
Combined Cycle Gas Turbine Plant (IPP8, 700 MW)	Jordan	Tendering	$700m*
NPC Central Gas Terminal & Risha Field Development	Risha field	Awarded	$650m
Amman-Zarqa Gas Distribution Network Project	Amman and Zarqa	Pipeline	$550m
Al Khanasri Gas Compressor Station (Arab Gas Pipeline)	Al Khanasri, northern Jordan	Under way	$274m*
Sheikh Sabah LNG Terminal (Aqaba)	Aqaba	Under way	$127m
Um Lahm	Zarqa Governorate	Pipeline	$120m*
Aqaba Oil & Gas Terminal Facilities Development	Southern Industrial Zone	Tendering	$114m*
Exploration of Northern Risha & East Safawi Gas Field	Risha concession	Pipeline	$71m
Muwaqqar & Al-Rawda Industrial Cities Gas Supply Lines	Al-Muwaqqar	Under way	$70m
Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) Plants	Risha area, Mafraq Governorate	Pipeline	$50m*
JPRC LPG Storage Spheres, South Aqaba	Aqaba	Under way	$22m
Attarat Power Plant (Oil Shale, 554 MW)	Attarat Um Ghudran	Delivered	$2.1bn
Amman Asia / Al-Manakher (IPP3, 573 MW)	Al-Manakher	Delivered	$812m
ACWA Power Zarqa (IPP5, 485 MW CCGT)	Zarqa	Delivered	$475m*
Ammonia & Urea Plant	Near the Risha Gas Field	Pipeline	$1.5bn*
Al Quwairah International Industrial Estate (QIIE)	Al Quweira, Aqaba	Under way	$1bn
New Bulk Liquids Terminal	South Port	Tendering	$63m
Al-Risha AI Data Center Campus (Mindstream)	Al-Risha gas field	Pipeline	$50m*
Jordan Methanol Manufacturing Plant	Industrial zone in Jordan	Open opportunity	$29m*

AI, robotics and tokenization

What changes for oil, gas and power

Artificial intelligence

For oil, gas and power in Jordan, AI turns a fast-growing gas field into a planned system. Models of the Risha reservoir can place each of the dozens of new wells, and forecasting tools can match gas from Risha, LNG and the Arab Gas Pipeline to power plants and factories. On the grid, AI can decide hour by hour when gas plants should back up solar and wind.

What can be built

Reservoir models. Machine learning on seismic and well data that guides where NPC drills next across Risha and its exploration blocks.
Gas balancing. A digital twin of the national gas network that balances Risha gas, LNG imports and pipeline flows against demand each day.
Plant dispatch. Forecasting that schedules gas plants around solar and wind output, cutting fuel use and keeping the grid stable.
Refinery tuning. Process models that set crude blends and unit conditions at the upgraded Zarqa refinery for the most valuable product mix.

Robotics

Jordan's oil and gas network stretches across hundreds of kilometres of desert, from Risha to Al Khanasri and from the Arab Gas Pipeline to the jetties at Aqaba. Robots make that network cheaper and safer to run. Automated rigs can speed up drilling, drones and pipeline crawlers can find corrosion and leaks early, and robots can inspect tanks and berths without stopping operations.

What can be built

Automated drilling. Rigs with automated pipe handling that drill Risha's new wells faster and with fewer people on the drill floor.
Pipeline drones. Drones and in-line inspection tools that patrol the planned Risha pipeline and the gas supply lines to industrial cities.
Tank and jetty robots. Crawlers and underwater robots that inspect tanks, LPG spheres and berths at Aqaba while they stay in service.
Plant maintenance. Robots that inspect boilers, turbines and heat recovery units inside gas power plants during short outages.

Tokenization

Pipelines, terminals and gas power plants in Jordan earn fees and capacity payments under long contracts, the steady and measurable income that tokenization suits. Tokenized notes in a gas supply line to an industrial city, a compressed gas plant at Risha or a share of a power plant could open these assets to Jordanian savers and regional investors, with payments made automatically from each month's revenue.

What can be built

Power plant notes. Tokenized notes in gas power plants, paid from capacity and energy payments under long agreements with NEPCO.
Pipeline units. Tokens in gas supply lines and city networks, paid from the transport and connection fees that users pay.
Terminal capacity. Tokenized rights to storage and berth capacity at Aqaba that traders and shippers can buy, hold and resell.
Compression units. Small stakes in compressed and liquefied gas plants at Risha, paid from the gas they sell to trucks and factories.

Small PPPs and unsolicited proposals

Small PPPs and research labs

Small PPPs suit the many gas and power assets below about US$14.1 million, such as supply lines to factories, metering, gas stations and plant upgrades. A research lab with NPC, the refinery and a university could test methane detection, gas-to-chemicals and carbon capture. Three $100,000 pilots could start it: drone methane monitoring along a pipeline, a small compressed gas station for a bus fleet, and a carbon capture test unit at a gas plant.

How it works

Unsolicited proposals under Article 15

A company can bring direct proposals under Article 15 for gas and power projects that have not yet been tendered: gas supply lines to industrial estates still without gas, compressed and liquefied gas delivered by truck to towns beyond the network, waste heat recovery at existing power plants, or the conversion of public bus depots and government fleets to natural gas under a long service contract.

How it works

New industries

What the sector can create

01Gas chemicalsAmmonia, urea and methanol made from Risha gas, supplying Jordan's fertilizer industry and exporting through Aqaba.
02Virtual pipelinesCompressed and liquefied gas trucked to factories, towns and industrial cities that the pipeline network does not yet reach.
03Wellhead computeData centers built next to the gas field with their own power plants, selling compute to the region.
04Carbon captureCapturing carbon dioxide from gas processing and power plants and using it in chemicals, building materials and greenhouses.
05Energy tradingA Jordan that moves Iraqi crude, LNG and electricity between its neighbours and earns fees on every flow.
06Digital field servicesJordanian companies that run drilling, pipeline inspection and plant maintenance with AI and robotics across the region.

Opportunities

Where partners come in

Power tenders: Bid for gas-fired plants procured by NEPCO, such as the 700 MW IPP8, alone or in consortiums with lenders and contractors.
Upstream partnerships: Join NPC in exploring new areas such as East Safawi, or invest in its gas compression and liquefaction plants around Risha.
Midstream and terminals: Bid for pipelines, processing plants and Aqaba terminals, including the new bulk liquids terminal, as EPC contractors or investors.
Direct proposals: Propose projects under Article 15 of PPP Law No. 19 of 2023, such as gas supply to industrial cities or city distribution networks.
Small-scale PPPs: Regulation No. 9 of 2024 covers PPPs below about US$14.1 million, which suits gas stations, supply lines and metering upgrades.
Investment and ownership: Finance plants and pipelines through development banks, export credit agencies, infrastructure funds and tokenized stakes.

Stained-glass illustration in blue glass of a city of towers under a rising arch

The road to the singularity

2026Risha's concession is extended and drilling expands; the LNG terminal and a 700 MW gas plant move into construction.
2030Risha produces about 418 million cubic feet a day, linked to the national network and feeding power, industry and homes.
2035Risha output nears 810 million cubic feet a day; the refinery is upgraded and gas reaches homes in Amman and Zarqa.
2040AI dispatches gas plants as backup to a grid run mostly on sun, wind and storage; Aqaba trades crude, LNG and ammonia.
2050Gas becomes mainly a raw material for chemicals, and power plants built today run on hydrogen blends or stand in reserve.

Domestic gas gives Jordan the firm power and the feedstock it needs while the new energy system is built. The projects in this guide are the first steps towards a country that produces its own energy and moves it for the region.

Download the sector guide (PDF)

Guides for organizations

Launch a PPP program of your own

The guides closest to oil, gas and power, each showing one kind of organization how to launch a PPP program, with six first steps.

Economic sectors
Oil and Gas Companies
Your company launches a PPP program to develop and run gas networks, storage terminals and fuel logistics as public-private partnerships (PPPs) and to lead the move toward hydrogen, biogas and lower-carbon fuels.
Read PDF
Economic sectors
Energy Developers
Your company launches a PPP program to develop solar, wind, storage, green hydrogen and grid projects as public-private partnerships (PPPs) and to power the water, transport and industrial projects around them.
Read PDF
Public sector
State-Owned Utilities and Companies
Your utility or company launches its own public-private partnership (PPP) program, with performance-based contracts for its networks and plants, a research lab that runs small PPPs in parallel and an open door to direct proposals from the private sector.
Read PDF
Capital
Infrastructure Funds
Your fund launches an investment program that takes equity in public-private partnership (PPP) project companies in Jordan and the region, builds a platform for small-scale PPPs and backs the technology that runs them.
Read PDF