The Energy Conservation and Sustainable Environment society intends to file a lawsuit against the Jordan Petroleum Refinery Company and the Jordanian Prime Minister for violating diesel production standards in a way that threatens the environment and public hygiene.

The Jordan Petroleum Refinery Company confessed to violating diesel production standards and pointed out that the reason behind being late in rectifying its situation and equipping the refinery with the latest technologies for purifying diesel from sulfur is the fiscal deficit, according to the marketing and distributing CEO at JPR Zaid Al-Kayed.

Kayed has told AmmanNet that one part of the JPR’s financial problem is the lack of commitment from the Jordanian government to pay the difference resulting from supporting fuels that are estimated at JD156m.

The JPR CEO’s has also confirmed that his company had suggested in 2000 that there would be a five-phase project with the end result of fixing the problem. This project is in the third phase now.

He indicated that the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources has exempted the refinery from applying the standards of diesel production and purifying it from sulfur until this project completes its third phase.

Zaid Al-Kayed has stressed that moving into the 4th phase needs about 4-5 years and a strategic partner with the refinery, which is the part that the government decides over.

As for the lawsuit,  the Energy Conservation and Sustainable Environment society president Ayob Abu Diyeh has said that the case is going through the legal procedures and he believes that it will affect the Prime Minister for not adopting a clear stance to solve the problem.

The percentage of the sulfur emitted in the air as a result of diesel production is supposed to be 350 milligram according to the Jordanian standards, however it instead exceeds 10-11 thousand milligram per unit.

The government renewed the JPR franchise in the year 2008 after the expiration of the previous one that lasted for 50 years.