September 1, 2024 - Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources Dr. Saleh Al-Kharabsheh and Minister of Investment Kholoud Al-Saqqaf signed an agreement today, Sunday, to establish and manage a "special free zone" in the Azraq area for the purposes of storing and maintaining machinery and equipment for drilling and exploration companies specialized in oil, gas and mining operations.

Al-Saqqaf confirmed that under the Investment Environment Law of 2022, the Ministry of Investment is the entity responsible for supervising free zones and regulating their work. She stressed that the cooperation agreement with the Ministry of Energy to be the main developer to establish a free zone specialized in storing and maintaining machinery and equipment for drilling and exploration companies specialized in oil, gas and mining operations, came in line with the general investment policy in the Kingdom, which is based on achieving economic and development visions aimed at providing job opportunities, increasing economic growth, and improving competitiveness and the business environment.

For his part, Al-Kharabsheh said in a press statement following the signing that, according to the agreement, the main operator (the Ministry of Energy) will establish the necessary infrastructure to sustain the work of the special free zone and supervise it, indicating that the duration of the agreement is 30 years, renewable for a similar period by agreement of both parties.

 Al-Kharabsheh added that the agreement only allows the ministry to practice the activity of storing and maintaining machinery and equipment for drilling and exploration companies, expressing his aspirations for the special free zone to be available to serve oil, gas and mining drilling rigs and petroleum service companies in Jordan and the surrounding areas that are linked to Azraq by easy and convenient road networks, which will contribute to the development of the oil industry and the employment of workers, as the current free zone is considered a nucleus that will be expanded in the future to provide comprehensive services to the sector for the purpose of development.

 Regarding the details of the agreement, the Director of Natural Resources Projects at the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources, Bahjat Al-Adwan, explained that the agreement allows the ministry to implement any of its obligations through financially and technically qualified developers, sub-operators, contractors or contractors, whether the contract is for the purpose of implementing the project elements or any of them, or to implement any work at any stage of the development of the free zone or to manage it, market it or maintain services in it.

He added that the private free zone will be established on two plots of land owned by the Ministry of Energy from the lands of the southern Azraq Shishan village, and its establishment in Azraq comes due to its proximity to the border points with surrounding countries, and the agreement is effective from the date of the Cabinet’s decision to declare the free zone.

Al-Adwan explained that the Ministry of Energy (the main developer) and throughout the validity period of the agreement, bears all the expenses and costs of implementing the project, including the costs of establishing, building, maintaining, operating, managing, maintaining and developing the free zone, indicating that the ministry will receive a financial return as a result of the contracts it concludes with any party targeting the use of the private free zone for the purposes of storing and maintaining its machinery and equipment.

Al-Adwan expected that the special  free zone would start receiving companies within 3 months at the latest.