P.M. BRIEFING : Amoco Fails to Find Oil in Jordan

Houston-based Amoco plans to pull out of Jordan after drilling two wells without finding oil in the last three years, industry sources said today.

They said the Amoco Jordan Petroleum Co. told the Natural Resources Authority informally that it did not expect to go into the second phase of its 7 1/2-year concession.

NRA Director-General Kamal Jreisat said the Amoco subsidiary had spent around $12 million.

Amoco’s decision is a blow to Jordan’s hopes of finding oil in commercial quantities, but industry sources said they do not expect other foreign oil companies to follow suit immediately.

Dallas-based Hunt Oil Co. signed a similar agreement in August, 1986. Its subsidiary, Jordan Hunt Oil Co., drilled a well in the southern al-Jafr area this year, but industry sources said the results were not promising.