Jordan is inviting international contractors to prequalify for a crude oil and products terminal at its Red Sea port of Aqaba, its energy ministry said.

Bombings in Egypt of a natural gas export pipeline have forced Jordan, along with other regional customers, to seek additional supplies of gasoil, a more expensive fuel that can also be used to generate electricity.

Large imports of gasoil, organised via monthly tenders, have put pressure on Jordan's only oil jetty that can accommodate tankers of around 400,000 tonnes.

Contractors were invited to respond to a prequalification request by June 21, said a ministry official who added it was premature to estimate the cost of the terminal until detailed technical and financial offers are submitted by short-listed firms at a later stage. A web posting said the project would be carried on the basis of a lump sum turnkey job.

Jordan's consumes over 150,000 barrels of crude oil per day, mostly from Saudi Arabia. Jordan's oil bill that has topped $4 billion last year has added to its fiscal headache.

Jordan also plans to offer a tender to build an offshore liquefied natural gas terminal in the port of Aqaba by June. Senior energy official held talks in Doha, Qatar, last February over possible imports of Qatari gas by sea.  - Reuters