The first liquefied natural gas (LNG) tanker docked on Monday morning at Jordan’s Aqaba New Terminal, marking the first shipment of LNG to the Kingdom, the government said on Monday.
The steamship, which can hold up to 160,000mn cubic metres of LNG, was rented from an international company in 2013 and will be used as a storage facility.Â
The carrier came from Singapore and was laden with Qatari gas. The LNG Â will be processed and pumped into the Arab gas pipeline before being sent to power plants.
Aqaba Development Corporation CEO Ghassan Ghanem said the LNG port was officially inaugurated and started operations on Tuesday.
The shipment marks a turning point in the history of Jordanian ports industry as LNG will be turned into gas and then be pumped through the Arab gas pipeline to electricity generation stations, he added.
Ghanem previously told The Jordan Times that the LNG terminal which built to receive LNG imports as an alternative to the costly heavy oil used to generate electricity.
The Aqaba terminal is one of four energy ports, including the oil terminal, while the third is the liquefied propane gas terminal, dedicated to receive shipments of gas used in cylinder for cooking and heating purposes.
Another miscellaneous liquids terminal project is also in the pipeline, with tender expected to be ready by Q3, according to the official, who said that the port will include 30 lines to carry the liquids to “tanks farms” for storage.
The port has been named after Kuwait’s emir, Sheikh Sabah Al Ahmad Al Sabah.
