AMMAN (JT) - An agreement signed in March for a British company to exploit Jordan's oil shale resources has received official approval, according to a statement from the UK embassy in Amman.
The project is expected to create approximately 700 direct jobs and 2,500 indirect jobs, and will help Jordan reduce its dependency on foreign oil imports while adding some $60 million annually to its national wealth through taxes and royalties, the statement said.
Under the terms of the agreement, Karak International Oil (KIO), a subsidiary of the UK-registered company Jordan Energy and Mining Ltd., will use thermal cracking and retorting technology to extract and process oil shale in a 35sq.km area of Lejjun, Karak.
The deal is expected to produce 15,000 gallons of oil per day within the next five years, with the possibility of reaching 60,000 tonnes with additional investment, according to the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources.
KIO has already invested $30 million in the project, the statement said.
The agreement adds to ongoing projects to tap into the Kingdom's oil shale reserves, which extend over 60 per cent of the country and are estimated at some 40 billion tonnes.
In 2010, the Kingdom inked a 44-year product sharing agreement with Estonian firm Eesti Energia entailing the production of up to 35,000 barrels of oil per day in the central region.
Royal Dutch Shell is currently in the exploratory phase of a multibillion dollar operation to apply its patented In-situ Conversion Process in the eastern and northern regions, where shale reserves are deep and cannot be mined through conventional methods.
According to the national energy strategy, electricity produced by oil shale is to account for 14 per cent of the Kingdom's energy mix within the next decade.
© Jordan Times 2011
