Jordan finally appears to be moving forward with the $1.6bn expansion of its sole refinery at Zarqa, 35km northeast of Amman. US process engineering firm Honeywell UOP this week signed a deal with the Jordan Petroleum Refinery Company (JPRC) to provide technology and services for the expansion to 120,000 b/d from the current 70,000 b/d.

Jordan is heavily reliant on products imports. Zarqa output has averaged 65,000 b/d in recent years (see chart). Demand has been more than double this with JPRC CEO ‘Abd al- Karim al-‘Alawin pegging expected future demand growth at 3%/year. (CONTINUED - 298 WORDS)