Oil shale in Jordan
Encyclopedia
Oil shale in Jordan represents a significant resource. Oil shale deposits
in Jordan underlie more than 60% of Jordanian territory, with the total resources estimated at 40 to 70 billion tonnes of oil shale
. The deposits include a high quality marinite
oil shale of Late Cretaceous
to early Tertiary
age. The most important and investigated deposits are located in west-central Jordan
, where they occur at the surface and close to developed infrastructure.
Although oil shale was utilized in northern Jordan prior to and during World War I
, intensive exploration and studies of Jordan's oil shale resource potential started in the 1970s and 1980s, being motivated by higher oil prices, modern technology and better economic potential. As of 2008, no oil shale industry
exists in Jordan, but several companies are considering both shale oil extraction and oil shale combustion
for thermal power generation
.
, Jordan has 8th largest oil shale resource in the world. Geological surveys indicate that the existing deposits underlie more than 60% of Jordan's territory. The resource consists of 40 to 70 billion tonnes of oil shale, which may be equivalent to more than 5 million tonnes of shale oil
.
The Jordanian oil shale is a marinite
of Late Cretaceous (Maastrichtian
) to early Tertiary age; it lies within the Muwaqqar Formation and is composed predominantly of chalk
and marl
. The rock is typically brown, gray, or black in color and weathers
to a distinctive light bluish-gray. It is characterized by its content of light fine-grained
phosphatic
xenocrysts
, some of which is accumulated in bone bed
s. An uncommon feature of Jordanian oil shale is that the included foraminifera
l shells are filled with bitumen instead of the usual calcite
.
In general Jordanian oil shales are of high quality, comparable to the western United States oil shale, although their sulfur
content is usually higher. While the sulfur content of the most of oil shales in Jordan varies from 0.3 to 4.3%, the Jurf ed Darawish and the Sultani deposits have sulfur content of 8 and 10% respectively. Sulfur is mostly associated with the organic matter with minor occurrence as pyrite
. The moisture content of the oil shale is low (2 to 5.5%). The major mineral components of the Jordanian oil shale are calcite, quartz
, kaolinite
, and apatite
, along with small amounts of dolomite
, feldspar
, pyrite
, illite
, goethite
, and gypsum
. It has also a relatively high metal content.
The eight most important deposits are located in west-central Jordan within 20 to 75 km (12.4 to 46.6 mi) east of the Dead Sea
. These deposits are Juref ed Darawish, Sultani, Wadi Maghar, El Lajjun, Attarat Umm Ghudran, Khan ez Zabib, Siwaga, and Wadi Thamad. The best-explored deposits are El Lajjun, Sultani, and Juref ed Darawish, and to some extent Attarat Um Ghudran. They are all classified as shallow and most are suitable for open-cast mining
, albeit some are underlain by phosphate beds. In addition to the west-central deposits, another important deposit may be the Yarmouk
deposit occurring near Jordan's northern border, and where the resource was first developed. This deposit would be exploitable by underground mining as it reaches some 400 metres (1,312.3 ft) in thickness. A third oil shale region lays in southern Jordan in the Ma'an
district.
, Umayyad and Abbasid periods. The modern exploitation of Jordanian oil shale began under Ottoman
rule prior to and during World War I, when the German Army
produced shale oil from the Yarmouk area. The oil shale was processed to operate the Hijazi Railway. It was mined and processed near the Maqarin station along the Haifa spur of the railroad, which partly follows the Yarmouk River
valley. In addition to the shale oil production, oil shale was also utilized as a mix with coal to fuel locomotives.
The German Geological Mission studied the El Lajjun deposit in 1968. In 1979, the Natural Resources Authority of Jordan commissioned a study from the German Federal Institute of Natural Resources and Geosciences to evaluate the Juref ed Darawish, Sultani, El Lajjun, and El Hisa deposits and in 1980 from Klöckner
-Lurgi
to evaluate the pre-feasibility of construction of an oil shale retorting complex using Lurgi-Ruhrgas process
and a power plant with 300 MW capacity using Lurgi's Circulating Fluidized Bed (CFB) combustion process. In 1980, the Soviet Technopromexport company conducted a prefeasibility study of the 300-400 MW direct burning conventional combustion power plant. In 1986, updated and expanded studies were ordered from Klöckner-Lurgi.
In 1985-1986, Chinese oil company Sinopec
carried out a test for processing El Lajjun oil shale utilizing the Fushun-type retort
. Although this process was technically viable, the cooperation with Sinopec was halted due to high operation costs. B.B.C, Lummus/Combustion Eng. and Bechtel Pyropower
carried out the CIDA
and USAID
funded study of utilizing Sultani oil shale for direct combustion in CFB power plants.
The Krzhizhanovsky Power Engineering Institute (ENIN) conducted processing tests of Jordan oil shale using Galoter technology finding the technology suitable.
was signed on 5 November 2006. According to the agreement, Eesti Energia was awarded with the exclusive right to study about one third of the resources of the El Lajjun oil shale deposit. Later this right was transferred to cover a block on the Attarat Umm Ghudran oil shale deposit as the shallow aquifer that underlies the El Lajjun deposit provides fresh water to Amman and other municipalities in central Jordan. On 29 April 2008, Eesti Energia present a feasibility study to the Government of Jordan. According to the feasibility study, the company will establish a shale oil plant with capacity of 36000 oilbbl/d. The shale oil plant will use a Galoter process
ing technology; the construction is slated to begin by 2015. The concession agreement was signed on 11 May 2010 in the presence of Jordanian and Estonian prime ministers Samir Zaid al-Rifai
and Andrus Ansip
.
On 24 February 2007, a memorandum of understanding was signed with Brazil's Petrobras
awarding with the exclusive right to study a block at the Attarat Umm Ghudran deposit. The development will be carried out in the cooperation with Total S.A.
The company will present a feasibility study at the beginning of 2009 and it will use the Petrosix
technology.
In June 2006, a memorandum of understanding was signed with Royal Dutch Shell
to test its in-situ conversion processing in the Azraq and Al-Jafr blocks of central Jordan. A formal agreement was concluded in February 2009 by which Shell's subsidiary in Jordan, The Jordan Oil Shale Energy Company, committed to begin commercial operations within within 12–20 years. According to the company a decision to invest in a commercial project is unlikely before the late 2020s.
On 9 March 2011, the Government of Jordan signed a concession agreement with Karak International Oil, a subsidiary of Jordan Energy and Mining Ltd., a project company established for Jordan's oil shale activities. Karak International Oil will built a 15000 oilbbl/d shale oil plant in a 35 square kilometres (13.5 sq mi) area of El Lajjun in Karak Governorate
by 2015. The company plans to use the Alberta Taciuk Process
ing technology.
On 5 November 2006 Saudi Arabia
n International Corporation for Oil Shale Investment (INCOSIN) signed a memorandum of understanding for evaluation of El Lajjun deposit and Attarat Umm Ghudran resources. The company cooperates with Russian Atomenergoproekt to utilize Galoter processe.
In March 2009, the Government of Jordan approved a memoranda of understanding on oil shale extraction with Russian company Inter RAO UES
and Jordan company Aqaba Petroleum. Also the Abu Dhabi National Energy Company
(TAQA) has shown interest to invest into Jordan's oil shale extraction sector.
), and the largest oil shale-fired power station in the world after Narva Power Plants
in Estonia.
Inter RAO is planning to build a oil shale-fired power station with capacity of 90–150 MW.
Oil shale reserves
Oil shale reserves refers to oil shale resources that are recoverable under given economic restraints and technological abilities. Oil shale deposits range from small presently non-economic occurrences to large presently commercially exploitable reserves...
in Jordan underlie more than 60% of Jordanian territory, with the total resources estimated at 40 to 70 billion tonnes of oil shale
Oil shale
Oil shale, an organic-rich fine-grained sedimentary rock, contains significant amounts of kerogen from which liquid hydrocarbons called shale oil can be produced...
. The deposits include a high quality marinite
Marinite
Marinite is a gray to dark-gray or black oil shale of marine origin in which the chief organic components are lamalginite and bituminite derived from marine phytoplankton, with varied admixtures of bitumen, telalginite and vitrinite. Marinite deposits are the most abundant oil-shale deposits...
oil shale of Late Cretaceous
Late Cretaceous
The Late Cretaceous is the younger of two epochs into which the Cretaceous period is divided in the geologic timescale. Rock strata from this epoch form the Upper Cretaceous series...
to early Tertiary
Tertiary
The Tertiary is a deprecated term for a geologic period 65 million to 2.6 million years ago. The Tertiary covered the time span between the superseded Secondary period and the Quaternary...
age. The most important and investigated deposits are located in west-central Jordan
Jordan
Jordan , officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan , Al-Mamlaka al-Urduniyya al-Hashemiyya) is a kingdom on the East Bank of the River Jordan. The country borders Saudi Arabia to the east and south-east, Iraq to the north-east, Syria to the north and the West Bank and Israel to the west, sharing...
, where they occur at the surface and close to developed infrastructure.
Although oil shale was utilized in northern Jordan prior to and during World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
, intensive exploration and studies of Jordan's oil shale resource potential started in the 1970s and 1980s, being motivated by higher oil prices, modern technology and better economic potential. As of 2008, no oil shale industry
Oil shale industry
Oil shale industry is an industry of mining and processing of oil shale—a fine-grained sedimentary rock, containing significant amounts of kerogen , from which liquid hydrocarbons can be manufactured. The industry has developed in Brazil, China, Estonia and to some extent in Germany, Israel and...
exists in Jordan, but several companies are considering both shale oil extraction and oil shale combustion
Combustion
Combustion or burning is the sequence of exothermic chemical reactions between a fuel and an oxidant accompanied by the production of heat and conversion of chemical species. The release of heat can result in the production of light in the form of either glowing or a flame...
for thermal power generation
Thermal power station
A thermal power station is a power plant in which the prime mover is steam driven. Water is heated, turns into steam and spins a steam turbine which drives an electrical generator. After it passes through the turbine, the steam is condensed in a condenser and recycled to where it was heated; this...
.
Reserves
Jordan has significant oil shale deposits occurring in 26 known localities. According to the World Energy CouncilWorld Energy Council
The World Energy Council is a global and inclusive forum for thought-leadership and tangible engagement with headquarters in London. Its mission is 'To promote the sustainable supply and use of energy for the greatest benefit of all people'....
, Jordan has 8th largest oil shale resource in the world. Geological surveys indicate that the existing deposits underlie more than 60% of Jordan's territory. The resource consists of 40 to 70 billion tonnes of oil shale, which may be equivalent to more than 5 million tonnes of shale oil
Shale oil
Shale oil, known also as kerogen oil or oil-shale oil, is an unconventional oil produced from oil shale by pyrolysis, hydrogenation, or thermal dissolution. These processes convert the organic matter within the rock into synthetic oil and gas...
.
The Jordanian oil shale is a marinite
Marinite
Marinite is a gray to dark-gray or black oil shale of marine origin in which the chief organic components are lamalginite and bituminite derived from marine phytoplankton, with varied admixtures of bitumen, telalginite and vitrinite. Marinite deposits are the most abundant oil-shale deposits...
of Late Cretaceous (Maastrichtian
Maastrichtian
The Maastrichtian is, in the ICS' geologic timescale, the latest age or upper stage of the Late Cretaceous epoch or Upper Cretaceous series, the Cretaceous period or system, and of the Mesozoic era or erathem. It spanned from 70.6 ± 0.6 Ma to 65.5 ± 0.3 Ma...
) to early Tertiary age; it lies within the Muwaqqar Formation and is composed predominantly of chalk
Chalk
Chalk is a soft, white, porous sedimentary rock, a form of limestone composed of the mineral calcite. Calcite is calcium carbonate or CaCO3. It forms under reasonably deep marine conditions from the gradual accumulation of minute calcite plates shed from micro-organisms called coccolithophores....
and marl
Marl
Marl or marlstone is a calcium carbonate or lime-rich mud or mudstone which contains variable amounts of clays and aragonite. Marl was originally an old term loosely applied to a variety of materials, most of which occur as loose, earthy deposits consisting chiefly of an intimate mixture of clay...
. The rock is typically brown, gray, or black in color and weathers
Weathering
Weathering is the breaking down of rocks, soils and minerals as well as artificial materials through contact with the Earth's atmosphere, biota and waters...
to a distinctive light bluish-gray. It is characterized by its content of light fine-grained
Granularity
Granularity is the extent to which a system is broken down into small parts, either the system itself or its description or observation. It is the "extent to which a larger entity is subdivided...
phosphatic
Phosphate
A phosphate, an inorganic chemical, is a salt of phosphoric acid. In organic chemistry, a phosphate, or organophosphate, is an ester of phosphoric acid. Organic phosphates are important in biochemistry and biogeochemistry or ecology. Inorganic phosphates are mined to obtain phosphorus for use in...
xenocrysts
Xenolith
A xenolith is a rock fragment which becomes enveloped in a larger rock during the latter's development and hardening. In geology, the term xenolith is almost exclusively used to describe inclusions in igneous rock during magma emplacement and eruption...
, some of which is accumulated in bone bed
Bone bed
A bone bed is any geological stratum or deposit that contains bones of whatever kind. Inevitably, such deposits are sedimentary in nature. Not a formal term, it tends to be used more to describe especially dense collections...
s. An uncommon feature of Jordanian oil shale is that the included foraminifera
Foraminifera
The Foraminifera , or forams for short, are a large group of amoeboid protists which are among the commonest plankton species. They have reticulating pseudopods, fine strands of cytoplasm that branch and merge to form a dynamic net...
l shells are filled with bitumen instead of the usual calcite
Calcite
Calcite is a carbonate mineral and the most stable polymorph of calcium carbonate . The other polymorphs are the minerals aragonite and vaterite. Aragonite will change to calcite at 380-470°C, and vaterite is even less stable.-Properties:...
.
In general Jordanian oil shales are of high quality, comparable to the western United States oil shale, although their sulfur
Sulfur
Sulfur or sulphur is the chemical element with atomic number 16. In the periodic table it is represented by the symbol S. It is an abundant, multivalent non-metal. Under normal conditions, sulfur atoms form cyclic octatomic molecules with chemical formula S8. Elemental sulfur is a bright yellow...
content is usually higher. While the sulfur content of the most of oil shales in Jordan varies from 0.3 to 4.3%, the Jurf ed Darawish and the Sultani deposits have sulfur content of 8 and 10% respectively. Sulfur is mostly associated with the organic matter with minor occurrence as pyrite
Pyrite
The mineral pyrite, or iron pyrite, is an iron sulfide with the formula FeS2. This mineral's metallic luster and pale-to-normal, brass-yellow hue have earned it the nickname fool's gold because of its resemblance to gold...
. The moisture content of the oil shale is low (2 to 5.5%). The major mineral components of the Jordanian oil shale are calcite, quartz
Quartz
Quartz is the second-most-abundant mineral in the Earth's continental crust, after feldspar. It is made up of a continuous framework of SiO4 silicon–oxygen tetrahedra, with each oxygen being shared between two tetrahedra, giving an overall formula SiO2. There are many different varieties of quartz,...
, kaolinite
Kaolinite
Kaolinite is a clay mineral, part of the group of industrial minerals, with the chemical composition Al2Si2O54. It is a layered silicate mineral, with one tetrahedral sheet linked through oxygen atoms to one octahedral sheet of alumina octahedra...
, and apatite
Apatite
Apatite is a group of phosphate minerals, usually referring to hydroxylapatite, fluorapatite, chlorapatite and bromapatite, named for high concentrations of OH−, F−, Cl− or Br− ions, respectively, in the crystal...
, along with small amounts of dolomite
Dolomite
Dolomite is a carbonate mineral composed of calcium magnesium carbonate CaMg2. The term is also used to describe the sedimentary carbonate rock dolostone....
, feldspar
Feldspar
Feldspars are a group of rock-forming tectosilicate minerals which make up as much as 60% of the Earth's crust....
, pyrite
Pyrite
The mineral pyrite, or iron pyrite, is an iron sulfide with the formula FeS2. This mineral's metallic luster and pale-to-normal, brass-yellow hue have earned it the nickname fool's gold because of its resemblance to gold...
, illite
Illite
Illite is a non-expanding, clay-sized, micaceous mineral. Illite is a phyllosilicate or layered alumino-silicate. Its structure is constituted by the repetition of tetrahedron – octahedron – tetrahedron layers. The interlayer space is mainly occupied by poorly hydrated potassium cations...
, goethite
Goethite
Goethite , named after the German polymath Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, is an iron bearing oxide mineral found in soil and other low-temperature environments. Goethite has been well known since prehistoric times for its use as a pigment. Evidence has been found of its use in paint pigment samples...
, and gypsum
Gypsum
Gypsum is a very soft sulfate mineral composed of calcium sulfate dihydrate, with the chemical formula CaSO4·2H2O. It is found in alabaster, a decorative stone used in Ancient Egypt. It is the second softest mineral on the Mohs Hardness Scale...
. It has also a relatively high metal content.
The eight most important deposits are located in west-central Jordan within 20 to 75 km (12.4 to 46.6 mi) east of the Dead Sea
Dead Sea
The Dead Sea , also called the Salt Sea, is a salt lake bordering Jordan to the east and Israel and the West Bank to the west. Its surface and shores are below sea level, the lowest elevation on the Earth's surface. The Dead Sea is deep, the deepest hypersaline lake in the world...
. These deposits are Juref ed Darawish, Sultani, Wadi Maghar, El Lajjun, Attarat Umm Ghudran, Khan ez Zabib, Siwaga, and Wadi Thamad. The best-explored deposits are El Lajjun, Sultani, and Juref ed Darawish, and to some extent Attarat Um Ghudran. They are all classified as shallow and most are suitable for open-cast mining
Open-pit mining
Open-pit mining or opencast mining refers to a method of extracting rock or minerals from the earth by their removal from an open pit or borrow....
, albeit some are underlain by phosphate beds. In addition to the west-central deposits, another important deposit may be the Yarmouk
Yarmouk River
The Yarmouk River is the largest tributary of the Jordan River. It drains much of the Hauran Plateau. It is one of three main tributaries which enter the Jordan between the Sea of Galilee and the Dead Sea. To the south, are the Jabbok/Zarqa and the Arnon/Wadi Mujib) rivers...
deposit occurring near Jordan's northern border, and where the resource was first developed. This deposit would be exploitable by underground mining as it reaches some 400 metres (1,312.3 ft) in thickness. A third oil shale region lays in southern Jordan in the Ma'an
Ma'an
Ma'an is a town in southern Jordan 218 km away from the capital Amman. It is the capital of Ma'an Governorate. Ma'an has a population of around 50,000. The city had a population of 22,989 in the 1992 census and is estimated as being about 50,000 as of 2007 according to the Ma'an Municipality...
district.
History
Humans have used oil shale as a fuel since prehistoric times, because it generally burns without any processing. Its occurrence was known in Jordan from ancient times, as evidenced by its use as a building and decorative material from the ancient Greek, Roman, ByzantineByzantine Empire
The Byzantine Empire was the Eastern Roman Empire during the periods of Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, centred on the capital of Constantinople. Known simply as the Roman Empire or Romania to its inhabitants and neighbours, the Empire was the direct continuation of the Ancient Roman State...
, Umayyad and Abbasid periods. The modern exploitation of Jordanian oil shale began under Ottoman
Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman EmpireIt was usually referred to as the "Ottoman Empire", the "Turkish Empire", the "Ottoman Caliphate" or more commonly "Turkey" by its contemporaries...
rule prior to and during World War I, when the German Army
German Army (German Empire)
The German Army was the name given the combined land forces of the German Empire, also known as the National Army , Imperial Army or Imperial German Army. The term "Deutsches Heer" is also used for the modern German Army, the land component of the German Bundeswehr...
produced shale oil from the Yarmouk area. The oil shale was processed to operate the Hijazi Railway. It was mined and processed near the Maqarin station along the Haifa spur of the railroad, which partly follows the Yarmouk River
Yarmouk River
The Yarmouk River is the largest tributary of the Jordan River. It drains much of the Hauran Plateau. It is one of three main tributaries which enter the Jordan between the Sea of Galilee and the Dead Sea. To the south, are the Jabbok/Zarqa and the Arnon/Wadi Mujib) rivers...
valley. In addition to the shale oil production, oil shale was also utilized as a mix with coal to fuel locomotives.
The German Geological Mission studied the El Lajjun deposit in 1968. In 1979, the Natural Resources Authority of Jordan commissioned a study from the German Federal Institute of Natural Resources and Geosciences to evaluate the Juref ed Darawish, Sultani, El Lajjun, and El Hisa deposits and in 1980 from Klöckner
Klöckner
Klöckner & Co. is a German metal handler headquartered in Duisburg. Europe's largest independent distributor of steel, it is a leading supplier to the European and North American markets....
-Lurgi
Lurgi AG
Lurgi GmbH is a German engineering, construction and chemical process licensing company. The head office is located in Frankfurt am Main. Lurgi GmbH has been part of Air Liquide S. A. since 2007.- History :...
to evaluate the pre-feasibility of construction of an oil shale retorting complex using Lurgi-Ruhrgas process
Lurgi-Ruhrgas process
The Lurgi–Ruhrgas process is an above-ground coal liquefaction and shale oil extraction technology. It is classified as a hot recycled solids technology.-History:...
and a power plant with 300 MW capacity using Lurgi's Circulating Fluidized Bed (CFB) combustion process. In 1980, the Soviet Technopromexport company conducted a prefeasibility study of the 300-400 MW direct burning conventional combustion power plant. In 1986, updated and expanded studies were ordered from Klöckner-Lurgi.
In 1985-1986, Chinese oil company Sinopec
Sinopec
China Petroleum & Chemical Corporation Limited , or Sinopec Limited , is a majority owned subsidiary of state owned company Sinopec Group. Sinopec Limited is listed in Hong Kong and also trades in Shanghai and New York ....
carried out a test for processing El Lajjun oil shale utilizing the Fushun-type retort
Fushun process
The Fushun process is an above-ground retorting technology for shale oil extraction. It is named after the main production site of Fushun, Liaoning province in northeastern China.-History:...
. Although this process was technically viable, the cooperation with Sinopec was halted due to high operation costs. B.B.C, Lummus/Combustion Eng. and Bechtel Pyropower
Bechtel
Bechtel Corporation is the largest engineering company in the United States, ranking as the 5th-largest privately owned company in the U.S...
carried out the CIDA
Canadian International Development Agency
The Canadian International Development Agency was formed in 1968 by the Canadian government. CIDA administers foreign aid programs in developing countries, and operates in partnership with other Canadian organizations in the public and private sectors as well as other international organizations...
and USAID
United States Agency for International Development
The United States Agency for International Development is the United States federal government agency primarily responsible for administering civilian foreign aid. President John F. Kennedy created USAID in 1961 by executive order to implement development assistance programs in the areas...
funded study of utilizing Sultani oil shale for direct combustion in CFB power plants.
The Krzhizhanovsky Power Engineering Institute (ENIN) conducted processing tests of Jordan oil shale using Galoter technology finding the technology suitable.
Shale oil extraction
In 2006–2007, the Government of Jordan signed four memorandums of understanding for above-ground processing of shale oil and one memorandum for in-situ conversion processing. The memorandum of understanding with Estonian energy company Eesti EnergiaEesti Energia
Eesti Energia AS is a state-owned energy company in Estonia with its headquarters in Tallinn. The company operates in Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Finland and Jordan. In Estonia the company operates under the name Eesti Energia, while using the brand name Enefit for international operations...
was signed on 5 November 2006. According to the agreement, Eesti Energia was awarded with the exclusive right to study about one third of the resources of the El Lajjun oil shale deposit. Later this right was transferred to cover a block on the Attarat Umm Ghudran oil shale deposit as the shallow aquifer that underlies the El Lajjun deposit provides fresh water to Amman and other municipalities in central Jordan. On 29 April 2008, Eesti Energia present a feasibility study to the Government of Jordan. According to the feasibility study, the company will establish a shale oil plant with capacity of 36000 oilbbl/d. The shale oil plant will use a Galoter process
Galoter process
The Galoter process is a shale oil extraction technology for a production of shale oil, a type of synthetic crude oil. In this process, the oil shale is decomposed into shale oil, oil shale gas, and spent residue...
ing technology; the construction is slated to begin by 2015. The concession agreement was signed on 11 May 2010 in the presence of Jordanian and Estonian prime ministers Samir Zaid al-Rifai
Samir Rifai
Samir Zaid al-Rifai is a Jordanian politician of Palestinian descent, who was Prime Minister of Jordan from 14 December 2009 to 1 February 2011. He was replaced by Marouf al-Bakhit by the king Abdullah II, following weeks of protests in the country...
and Andrus Ansip
Andrus Ansip
Andrus Ansip is the current Prime Minister of Estonia, and chairman of the market liberal Estonian Reform Party .-Early life and career:...
.
On 24 February 2007, a memorandum of understanding was signed with Brazil's Petrobras
Petrobras
Petróleo Brasileiro or Petrobras is a semi-public Brazilian multinational energy corporation headquartered in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. It is the largest company in Latin America by market capitalization and revenue, and the largest company headquartered in the Southern Hemisphere by market...
awarding with the exclusive right to study a block at the Attarat Umm Ghudran deposit. The development will be carried out in the cooperation with Total S.A.
Total S.A.
Total S.A. is a French multinational oil company and one of the six "Supermajor" oil companies in the world.Its businesses cover the entire oil and gas chain, from crude oil and natural gas exploration and production to power generation, transportation, refining, petroleum product marketing, and...
The company will present a feasibility study at the beginning of 2009 and it will use the Petrosix
Petrosix
Petrosix is currently the world’s largest surface oil shale pyrolysis retort with an diameter vertical shaft kiln, operational since 1992. It is located in São Mateus do Sul, Brazil, and it is owned and operated by the Brazil energy company Petrobras. Petrosix means also the Petrosix process, an...
technology.
In June 2006, a memorandum of understanding was signed with Royal Dutch Shell
Royal Dutch Shell
Royal Dutch Shell plc , commonly known as Shell, is a global oil and gas company headquartered in The Hague, Netherlands and with its registered office in London, United Kingdom. It is the fifth-largest company in the world according to a composite measure by Forbes magazine and one of the six...
to test its in-situ conversion processing in the Azraq and Al-Jafr blocks of central Jordan. A formal agreement was concluded in February 2009 by which Shell's subsidiary in Jordan, The Jordan Oil Shale Energy Company, committed to begin commercial operations within within 12–20 years. According to the company a decision to invest in a commercial project is unlikely before the late 2020s.
On 9 March 2011, the Government of Jordan signed a concession agreement with Karak International Oil, a subsidiary of Jordan Energy and Mining Ltd., a project company established for Jordan's oil shale activities. Karak International Oil will built a 15000 oilbbl/d shale oil plant in a 35 square kilometres (13.5 sq mi) area of El Lajjun in Karak Governorate
Karak Governorate
Karak is one of the governorates of Jordan, located south-west of Amman, Jordan's capital. Its capital is Al Karak. It borders Madaba and the Capital Governorates to the north, Ma'an Governorate from the east, Tafilah Governorate from the south, and the Dead Sea form the west.-Ancient History:The...
by 2015. The company plans to use the Alberta Taciuk Process
Alberta Taciuk Process
The Alberta Taciuk process is an above-ground dry thermal retorting technology for extracting oil from oil sands, oil shale and other organics-bearing materials, including oil contaminated soils, sludges and wastes...
ing technology.
On 5 November 2006 Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia
The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia , commonly known in British English as Saudi Arabia and in Arabic as as-Sa‘ūdiyyah , is the largest state in Western Asia by land area, constituting the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula, and the second-largest in the Arab World...
n International Corporation for Oil Shale Investment (INCOSIN) signed a memorandum of understanding for evaluation of El Lajjun deposit and Attarat Umm Ghudran resources. The company cooperates with Russian Atomenergoproekt to utilize Galoter processe.
In March 2009, the Government of Jordan approved a memoranda of understanding on oil shale extraction with Russian company Inter RAO UES
Inter RAO UES
Inter RAO UES is a Russian energy company engaged in power generation and electricity trading. It has electricity export and import monopoly in Russia.- History :...
and Jordan company Aqaba Petroleum. Also the Abu Dhabi National Energy Company
Abu Dhabi National Energy Company
The Abu Dhabi National Energy Company, PJSC is a government controlled energy holding company of Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates....
(TAQA) has shown interest to invest into Jordan's oil shale extraction sector.
Power generation
For dealing with increasing power consumption, Jordan plans to utilize oil shale combustion for the power generation. On 30 April 2008, the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources of Jordan, the National Electricity Power Company of Jordan, and Eesti Energia signed an agreement, according to which, Eesti Energia will have the exclusive right to develop the construction of an oil shale-fired power station with capacity of 600-900 MW. Construction is expected to start in 2012. The power station is expected to be operational by 2015. When constructed, it will be among the largest power stations in Jordan (the largest being Aqaba Thermal Power StationAqaba Thermal Power Station
The Aqaba Thermal Power Station is the largest power station in Jordan. It has a total generation capacity of 656 MW, which consists of five steam turbines units , and two hydraulic turbines . The power station is fueled by natural gas and by fuel oil...
), and the largest oil shale-fired power station in the world after Narva Power Plants
Narva Power Plants
The Narva Power Plants are a power generation complex in Narva in Estonia, near the border with Leningrad Oblast, Russia. The complex consists of the world's two largest oil shale-fired thermal power plants, Eesti Power Plant and Balti Power Plant . In 2007, Narva Power Plants generated about...
in Estonia.
Inter RAO is planning to build a oil shale-fired power station with capacity of 90–150 MW.