(MENAFN- Kuwait News Agency (KUNA))
AMMAN, Sept 8 (KUNA) -- Jordan, Egypt, Syria and Lebanon announced Wednesday, the four countries' agreement to deliver Egyptian natural gas to Lebanon via Jordan and Syria, as well as to present a plan and timetable for implementing this step.
This was in a ministerial meeting, which included Jordanian Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources Hala Zawati, Egyptian Minister of Petroleum Tarek Al-Molla, Syrian Minister of Oil and Mineral Resources Bassam Tohme and Lebanese Minister of Energy and Water Dr. Raymond Ghajar, where they discussed the Arab Gas Pipeline (AGP) and ways to deliver Egyptian gas to Lebanon.
The ministers confirmed that another meeting would be held during the coming period to discuss the issue of supplying Lebanon with electricity, as well as the costs of revamping the infrastructure of the gas line.
The four countries will review the agreements within three weeks and assess the infrastructure and its readiness to pump gas back to Lebanon, the ministers said.
Zawati said that a meeting held in the Jordanian capital Amman today was mainly devoted to cooperation in the field of re-exporting Egyptian natural gas to Lebanon via Jordanian and Syrian territories through the AGP.
Technical meetings were held, on the sidelines of the ministerial meeting, during which they studied the readiness of the infrastructure needed to transport natural gas in each of the four countries, as it was agreed to present a clear work plan and a timetable for the delivery of Egyptian natural gas to Lebanon, Zawati added.
For his part, Tohme confirmed the readiness of the gas network in the Syrian territories, although some sites need to be repaired due to damage caused by terrorist acts.
Tohme added that the AGP project is one of the most vital joint Arab cooperation projects, which has been around since 2003, stressing that Syria informed the Lebanese side of their agreement to transfer Egyptian gas and Jordanian electricity to Lebanon via Syria.
He stated that the implementation of the technical and timetable program reached by the concerned parties would be monitored through technical meetings within Syria, so that the infrastructure is fully ready to receive Egyptian gas and deliver it to Lebanon.
In turn, Ghajar referred to negotiations with the World Bank to finance the import of Egyptian gas, stressing Lebanon's need for about 600 million cubic meters annually.
Ghajar said that this cooperation would have another future agreement, which is to draw electrical energy from Jordan, whose prices may be low compared to the prices of power generation in Lebanon.
Meanwhile, Al-Molla said that Egypt is working to speed up coordination for the arrival of Egyptian natural gas to Lebanon via Jordan and Syria.
When the ministers met with Jordanian Prime Minister Bisher Al-Khasawneh, the latter confirmed the many areas of cooperation between Jordan, Egypt, Syria and Lebanon to achieve the common interests of these countries.
The AGP extends from the Egyptian city of Arish to the Syrian city of Homs, with a length of 320 kilometers and a diameter of 36 inches, as the export of Egyptian natural gas to Lebanon via Jordan began in November 2009 until it stopped in 2011. (end)
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