New Deal Will Allow Shell to Develop One Quarter of Jordan for Oil Shale Exploration
An earth-shattering deal currently being finalized between Shell and Jordan’s Natural Resources Authority will potentially allow Shell to survey and develop nearly one quarter of Jordan in order to access about 40 billion tonnes of oil shale.
“Negotiations with Shell to sign a deal to process oil shale in Jordan are nearing an end,” said Maher Hjazin, head of the state-run Natural Resources Authority.
If our plans succeed, it would be one of the country’s largest projects to help the Jordan become energy self-sufficient, with a possibility to export oil in the future.
- » See also: Turning Desert into a Garden/Food Forest
- » Get EcoWorldly by RSS or sign up by email.
While not final, as it still needs to be approved by Jordan’s parliament, this deal would be one of the largest in Jordanian history. Since Jordan imports about 95% of its energy needs, this is a significant deal.
Under the concession agreement, Shell would use its new In-situ Conversion Process to extract oil from Jordan’s southern and central regions’ oil shale without using open-pit mining techniques.
Another potential roadblock to the concession agreement is that these regions of the country are also known for their uranium deposits. In areas where there are economically feasible amounts to mine, Jordan’s Nuclear Energy Commission receives precedence over oil shale extraction.
Image: Field Trip 294 via Flickr’s Creative Commons
[...] production, it will continue to sign further natural resource agreements, similar to its 2008 agreement to allow Shell to survey and develop nearly one quarter of Jordan in order to access about 40 [...]