Editing Economy of Jordan (section)

===Energy===
{{Further|Energy in Jordan|Nuclear energy in Jordan|Oil shale in Jordan}}
Energy remains perhaps the biggest challenge for continued growth for Jordan's economy. Spurred by the surge in the price of oil to more than $145 a barrel at its peak, the Jordanian government has responded with an ambitious plan for the sector. The country's lack of domestic resources is being addressed via a $14bn investment programme in the sector. The programme aims to reduce reliance on imported products from the current level of 96%, with renewables meeting 10% of energy demand by 2020 and nuclear energy meeting 60% of energy needs by 2035. The government also announced in 2007 that it would scale back subsidies in several areas, including energy, where there have historically been regressive subsidies for fuel and electricity. In another new step, the government is opening up the sector to competition, and intends to offer all the planned new energy projects to international tender.<ref name="oxfordbusinessgroup.com"/>

Unlike most of its neighbors, Jordan has no significant petroleum resources of its own and is heavily dependent on oil imports to fulfill its domestic energy needs. In 2002 proved oil reserves totaled only {{convert|445000|oilbbl}}. Jordan produced only {{convert|40|oilbbl/d}} in 2004 but consumed an estimated {{convert|103000|oilbbl/d}}. According to U.S. government figures, oil imports had reached about {{convert|100000|oilbbl/d}} in 2004. The Iraq invasion of 2003 disrupted Jordan's primary oil supply route from its eastern neighbor, which under Saddam Hussein had provided the kingdom with highly discounted crude oil via overland truck routes. Since late 2003, an alternative supply route by tanker through the Al Aqabah port has been established; Saudi Arabia is now Jordan's primary source of imported oil; Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) are secondary sources. Although not so heavily discounted as Iraqi crude oil, supplies from Saudi Arabia and the UAE are subsidized to some extent.<ref name=cp/>

In the face of continued high oil costs, interest has increased in the possibility of exploiting Jordan's vast [[oil shale reserves|oil shale resources]], which are estimated to total approximately 40&nbsp;billion tons, 4&nbsp;billion tons of which are believed to be recoverable. Jordan's [[oil shale]] resources could produce {{convert|28|Goilbbl|km3}} of oil, enabling production of about {{convert|100000|oilbbl/d}}. The [[oil shale in Jordan]] has the fourth largest in the world which currently, there are several companies who are negotiating with the Jordanian government about exploiting the oil shale like [[Royal Dutch Shell]], [[Petrobras]] and [[Eesti Energia]].

Natural gas is increasingly being used to fulfill the country's domestic energy needs, especially with regard to electricity generation. Jordan was estimated to have only modest natural gas reserves (about 6&nbsp;billion cubic meters in 2002), but new estimates suggest a much higher total. In 2003 the country produced and consumed an estimated 390&nbsp;million cubic meters of natural gas. The primary source is located in the eastern portion of the country at the Risha gas field. Until the early 2010s, the country imported the bulk of its natural gas via the [[Arab Gas Pipeline]] that stretches from the Al Arish terminal in Egypt underwater to [[Aqaba|Al Aqabah]] and then to northern Jordan, where it links to two major power stations. This Egypt–Jordan pipeline supplied Jordan with approximately 1&nbsp;billion cubic meters of natural gas per year.<ref name=cp/> Gas supplies from Egypt were halted in 2013 due to insurgent activities in the Sinai and domestic gas shortages in Egypt. In light of this, a [[liquified natural gas]] terminal was built in the Port of Aqaba to facilitate gas imports. In 2017, a low-capacity gas pipeline from Israel was completed which supplies the [[Arab Potash]] factories near the Dead Sea. As of 2018, a large capacity pipeline from Israel is under construction in northern Jordan which is expected to begin operating by 2020 and will supply the kingdom with 3 BCM of gas per year, thereby satisfying most of Jordan's natural gas consumption needs.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Ghazal |first1=Mohammad |title=Israeli gas to Jordan expected in 2020 — official |url=http://jordantimes.com/news/local/israeli-gas-jordan-expected-2020-—-official |access-date=6 July 2018 |work=[[The Jordan Times]] |date=5 July 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180705042157/http://jordantimes.com/news/local/israeli-gas-jordan-expected-2020-%E2%80%94-official |archive-date=5 July 2018 |url-status=live }}</ref>

The state-owned National Electric Power Company (NEPCO) produces most of Jordan's electricity (94%). Since mid-2000, privatization efforts have been undertaken to increase independent power generation facilities; a Belgian firm was set to begin operations at a new power plant near Amman with an estimated capacity of 450 megawatts. Power plants at Az Zarqa (400 megawatts) and Al Aqabah (650&nbsp;MW) are Jordan's other primary electricity providers. As a whole, the country consumed nearly 8 billion kilowatt-hours of electricity in 2003 while producing only 7.5&nbsp;billion kWh of electricity. Electricity production in 2004 rose to 8.7&nbsp;billion kWh, but production must continue to increase in order to meet demand, which the government estimates would continue to grow by about 5% per year. About 99% of the population is reported to have access to electricity.<ref name=cp/>