AMMAN, Jan. 17 (Xinhua) -- Hundreds of Jordanians on Friday protested in downtown Amman against a deal to purchase gas from Israel.
The protesters said the deal to import gas from Israel would harm Jordan's economy, calling on the government to seek alternatives from other Arab states.
They also demanded the annulment of the peace treaty that Jordan and Israel signed in 1994.
In early 2019, Jordan's state-run National Electric Power Company (NEPCO) started importing gas from Israel through U.S.-based company Noble Energy.
NEPCO said it was the only option for the company whose debt totalled 5.5 billion dinars (7.76 billion U.S. dollars) with an annual debt service of 120 million dinars.
The deal will meet 40 percent of Jordan's gas needs and save about 600 million U.S. 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.
