AMMAN — The draft 2027 General Budget Law allocated JD50.75 million to nine oil and natural gas projects, accounting for 80.6 per cent of the JD62.93 million in capital expenditure earmarked for the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources.

 

The ministry's total expenditure is estimated at JD69.97 million in 2027, up 17.2 per cent from the JD59.69 million re-estimated for 2026, according to budget data reported by Al Mamlaka TV.

 

Capital expenditure is projected to rise by 18.7 per cent, or JD9.91 million, from JD53.02 million in 2026 to JD62.93 million in 2027, while current expenditure is set to increase from JD6.674 million to JD7.038 million.

 

The Risha gas field development project, implemented through the National Petroleum Company, received the largest single capital allocation at JD33.25 million, accounting for 52.8 per cent of the ministry's capital spending. The allocation is 5 per cent lower than the JD35 million re-estimated for 2026, with a further JD20 million earmarked for 2028.

 

Allocations for completing development of the Sarhan field increased 15-fold to JD7.5 million, compared with JD500,000 in 2026. Indicative allocations stand at JD8 million for 2028 and JD10 million for 2029, bringing the three-year total to JD25.5 million.

 

The draft budget also introduced a new project to establish and equip a lane for transporting Iraqi oil, allocating JD2.5 million for 2027 and JD3.2 million for 2028, bringing the total to JD5.7 million.

 

The Hamza oil field production development project retained its JD2 million allocation, while spending on petroleum exploration marketing fell by 61.6 per cent, from JD4.3 million in 2026 to JD1.65 million in 2027.

 

Projects to supply natural gas to industrial estates received JD3.5 million, up 75 per cent from JD2 million in 2026. The allocation includes JD2.5 million for Zarqa Industrial Estate and JD1 million for other industrial estates.

 

The budget also earmarked JD150,000 for urban gas networks and JD200,000 for the Sheikh Hussein crossing gas pipeline, bringing total allocations for these gas infrastructure projects to JD3.85 million.

 

Allocations for mineral resources exploration doubled to JD2 million in 2027, with indicative spending rising to JD2.5 million in 2028 and JD4 million in 2029.

 

His Majesty King Abdullah, at a meeting held on Wednesday at Basman Palace and attended by HRH Crown Prince Hussein, stressed the need to accelerate priority electricity generation and storage projects, upgrade energy ports and attract private sector investment in renewable energy.