British oil giant BP PLC has signed several agreements potentially valued at up to $9 billion with Jordan to develop the country"s Risheh natural gas field along its border with Iraq. Under the deals signed Sunday with Oil Minister Khaldoun Qteishat, BP will spend $237 million on the project"s preliminary exploration and assessment phase over three years, The Associated Press reported. It may then invest up to $9 billion over nine years to raise overall output to as much as 1 billion cubic feet per day if the project is economically viable. Risheh currently produces 21 million cubic feet per day. Jordan imports 95 percent of its energy needs from neighboring Iraq, Saudi Arabia and Kuwait. It relies on Egypt for liquefied natural gas. --SPA
