Jordan Times
Sunday, December 5, 1999
Regent reviews water, energy issues
AMMAN (J.T.) — HRH Prince Faisal, the Regent, on Saturday called for regional cooperation to deal with the chronic water issue and for the utilisation of modern technology to ensure the best quality of water.
The Regent was speaking at a meeting held in the Royal Court with the Director General of the International Centre for Agricultural Research in Dry Areas Adel Biltaji following the conclusion of a two-day conference on water issues.
Jordan has acquired good experience in water management and utilisation because 95 per cent of its farmlands depend on drip irrigation, and the Kingdom's agricultural sector caters to the needs of the local and neighbouring Arab countries' markets, said the Regent.
The conference, organised by ICARDA, recommended the creation of a special council to address crisis-level water shortages in dry areas across North Africa and West Asia.
The appeal made by 100 delegates representing 50 countries also called for the development of multi-purpose technologies to maximise efforts to save, conserve, store, treat, desalinate and manage water.
Biltaji briefed Prince Faisal on the outcome of the conference which was organised in cooperation with the ministries of agriculture and water and irrigation.
Also on Saturday, the Regent met Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources Suleiman Abu Aleem who briefed him on the National Oil Company plans and prospects for investment, especially in the Risheh gas fields, which the company intends to expand and develop in order to supply local industries.
Abu Aleem added that the company will conclude an agreement with a Canadian oil firm to start prospecting for and utilising oil shale, found in abundance in some areas of southern Jordan.
Last July, a representative of the Canadian firm Suncor Energy Inc., said his firm is studying oil shale deposits to determine the kind of technology needed to develop the industry.
Preliminary research by Suncor and other firms have proved that the Kingdom's reserves of oil shale is estimated at 40 million cubic metres, 10 per cent of which is saturated with oil.
Minister of Industry and Trade Mohammad Saleh Horani, the chairman of the board of directors and the general manager of the National Oil Company, attended the meeting.