Gov’t mulls allowing private sector to import gasoline

AMMAN — The government is currently in negotiations with the private sector to facilitate the import of gasoline via fuel distribution companies operating in Jordan, Energy Minister Ibrahim Saif said on Wednesday.

The Jordan News Agency, Petra, quoted Saif as saying that the negotiations are centred around testing the local market for a new stage of a public-private sector partnership in the energy field, adding that the first shipment of private sector-imported diesel arrived in Aqaba on Tuesday.

The minister also said that fuel derivatives imported by the private sector will have to be in compliance with national standards. In January, the government signed a memorandum of understanding with the three fuel suppliers operating in the Kingdom — Total Jordan, Manaseer Oil & Gas and the Jordan Petroleum Products Marketing Company — to import diesel and distribute it directly to consumers without the mediation of the Jordan Petroleum Refinery Company.