Egypt said last month it would review its gas contracts with other states, including Israel and Jordan, amid accusations the government of former President Hosni Mubarak had improperly negotiated the sale of gas at preferential prices.  

Prime Minister Essam Sharaf at the time said he hoped to boost Egypt’s income from its gas sales by $3-4 billion.

The Jordanian government had agreed to adjust the price it pays for its gas under a 2004 agreement, Al-Mal quoted Hassan Al-Mahdy, the chairman of the state-owned gas company EGAS, as saying.

Government officials were not immediately available for comment.

The change in Jordan’s position strengthens the Egyptian side to negotiate a price adjustment for gas exported to Israel, Al-Mal said.

Egyptian opposition groups have long complained gas was being sold to Israel at preferential prices and that the contract with East Mediterranean Gas (EMG), which supplies Egyptian gas to Israel, violated bureaucratic regulations.

Egypt’s public prosecutor last month ordered former energy minister Sameh Fahmy and five other senior energy officials detained for questioning over the Israel gas deal.

The previous government had insisted the deals were done on commercial terms.