Work on the natural gas pipeline running from Israel to Jordan is expected to conclude in the coming weeks, allowing for Israeli gas to be pumped into the Hashemite Kingdom and potentially from there to other countries in the region.
In late September 2016, Israel and Jordan signed a landmark 15-year, $10 billion natural gas deal.
Work on the pipeline is headed by Israel Natural Gas Lines. It has been lauded as a "boost for peace."
The project is expected to go online in late 2019, coinciding with the expected date that Israel's Leviathan offshore natural gas field, which is slated to feed the pipeline, is also to become fully operational.
The work aims to both double the length of an existing pipeline running inside Israel along its border with Jordan, and add a new line running directly through the two countries' mutual border.
The plans are to extend the existing pipeline by some 32 kilometers (19 miles), essentially doubling it. The new, additional pipeline is expected to stretch across 23 kilometers (14 miles).
"We are in the advanced stages of laying the Israel-Jordan natural gas pipeline, which will enable significant exports of natural gas from Israel to Jordan during the coming year," Energy Minister Yuval Steinitz told Israel Hayom on Sunday.
"This is a significant link between Israel's energy infrastructure and that of the Arab world, and it has great value in terms of strengthening the axis of peace in the Middle East."
Israel Natural Gas Lines Chairman Eitan Padan noted that the company "lends great importance to the Jordan pipeline, which is an essential factor in the development of the natural gas industry."
"The work on the pipeline is progressing rapidly and we are even expected to be ahead of schedule," he added. "INGL is delighted to take part in a project that strengthens peace with our neighbors, and we are proud of the fact that we play a role in the Energy Ministry's natural gas revolution in Israel and the entire region."
