AMMAN, Jan. 5 (Xinhua) -- The state-run National Electric Power Company (NEPCO) said Sunday importing gas via Noble Energy was the last available option for the company, the state-run Petra news agency reported.
The company said its debt hits 5.5 billion dinars (about 7.8 billion U.S. dollars).
The company's Director General Amjad Rawashdeh said the disruption of the Egyptian gas supply to Jordan had forced the company to look for alternatives from neighboring countries through pipelines, adding that the Israeli gas was the "only choice available due to regional circumstances."
Hundreds of Jordanians took to the street on Friday to demonstrate the start of imports of natural gas from Israel into the country.
The deal will meet 40 percent of Jordan's gas needs and save about 600 million dollars every year, according to NEPCO.
Under the agreement, Noble Energy will provide gas worth 15 billion dollars to Jordan for a period of 15 years, or 300 million cubic feet on a daily basis.
Figures show Jordan imports about 97 percent of its energy needs.
