Khaberni - In Eastern Jordan, we find more than just a new gas well that has started its production. What is happening in the Risha field today is at its core a redefinition of the state's relationship with one of its deepest challenges, the challenge of energy and the thirst for national local energy.
This is not just news about saving a few million on the import bill, important as that is. The core point here is the strategic impact that extends beyond and deeper than the energy sector itself. When you own a part of your decision in the energy domain, you are not just buying gas, but you are buying a degree of economic independence. This is precisely what the production of 40 million cubic feet per day represents. It's not a huge number compared to total consumption, no, but it's a "critical mass" of domestic production that gives the policymaker a new card that wasn't available on his table before. A card that allows for negotiating from a better position with greater confidence and fewer concessions, and alleviates the impacts of shocks that shake the global energy markets and directly affect our budget in Jordan.
The impact extends and branches out. Think about the industrial sector that has been groaning under the burden of electricity costs for years. Providing local gas means, theoretically and practically, the beginning of a pathway to reduce these costs and improve the competitiveness of Jordanian factories. This is not a luxury, but a fundamental requirement for achieving the objectives of the economic modernization vision that talks about increasing the industrial sector's contribution to the gross domestic product. The investor, whether local or foreign, watches this development with keen interest. Having a national energy source reduces the country's risks in their calculations, and makes the decision to invest money in a new industrial project in Jordan more logical and attractive.
Perhaps the deepest point, often overlooked, is building knowledge. The fact that the national petroleum company, with its Jordanian staff, manages this file and achieves this leap in production, means that we are building real expertise on our ground, national expertise. This expertise is the most valuable asset in the long term. It will enable us to manage bigger and more complex projects in the future, whether in energy or elsewhere.
What Risha field is doing is transforming a natural resource from just a commodity into an effective economic policy tool. It indeed fuels the electricity network, and, at the same time, it fuels confidence in the economy, gives the industry oxygen to compete, and builds a foundation for a future less dependent on external fluctuations.
