His Majesty King Abdullah on Saturday stressed the importance of taking the necessary measures to maintain supplies of oil derivatives to various sectors.

During a visit to the Amman Strategic Reserves Terminal for Petroleum Products at Al Madouneh, King Abdullah directed the government to continue supplementing the strategic reserves of petroleum products, capitalizing on the current drop in oil prices.

His Majesty underscored the strategic value of Al Madouneh, calling for further investments in the area and an upgrade to its infrastructure, to turn it into an energy hub.

During the visit, the King checked on the strategic reserve of oil derivatives in the Kingdom, in line with His Majesty's keenness to follow up on the measures taken to counter the impact of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) and ensure sufficiency of basic commodities.

The Amman Strategic Reserves Terminal for Petroleum Products, which was established with a $210 million fund from the UAE and extends over 400,000 square metres, was opened in 2019 and accounts for 21.5 percent of oil storage facilities in Jordan.

Noting the availability of sufficient oil derivatives to cover the Kingdom’s needs, Energy Minister Hala Zawati briefed His Majesty on the terminal’s facilities.

Minister Zawati said the terminal, along with the Jordan Petroleum Refinery in Zarqa and other facilities for fuel storage in the south are aimed at covering the entire country’s needs of oil products.

The minister emphasised that the government is working to bolster the strategic stockpile and storage capacity of energy supplies in the Kingdom.