Gov’t says waiver given to refinery ‘an old decision’

AMMAN — The government on Tuesday said that a decision to exclude the Jordan Petroleum Refinery Company (JPRC) from compliance with rules related to oil derivatives’ quality was an old decision taken at the end of April.

The incumbent government only extended the validity of the waiver, the Prime Ministry said in a press statement, pending the end of the fourth phase of the refinery’s expansion project. 

The statement came as the JPRC responded harshly to a report by the Jordan Standards and Metrology Organisation (JSMO), in which the quality watchdog stated its position on the quality of gasoline on the local market. 

JPRC Chief Executive Officer Abdel Karim Alawin charged in a statement that JSMO “had accredited a report that was already prepared instead of addressing shortcomings that led to complaints over the quality of gasoline”.

He added that the organisation made a “biased” judgment (in favour of companies that import gasoline) where “high rates of iron were found in imported gasoline without disclosing any figures on iron concentration”.  

These tests were made after motorists’ complaints that there were deposits on spark plugs caused by “low quality” gasoline.

A report by an internationally accredited company had shown high iron presence in 90- and 95-octane fuel samples from various gas stations, including those affiliated with JPRC.

In 2016, the government signed deals with the French oil company Total, Jordan’s Manaseer Oil & Gas and the JPRC to equally divide the distribution of oil derivatives between the three companies.