AMMAN — The Ministry of Energy and
Mineral Resources and Al-Majarrah for Oil Shale and Natural Resources on Monday
signed a memorandum of understanding to
exploit oil shale on a
15-square-kilometer plot of land in the southern Al-Lajjun area of Karak governorate,
the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported.
اضافة اعلان
Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources
Saleh Kharabsheh and Al-Majarrah Director-General Imad Fakhoury signed the deal
in the presence of a number of ministry officials, the company's chairman Louie
Oumeish, and its board members Samir Ayyash and Mohammad Al-Zoubi.
Oil shale, a sedimentary rock, releases a
liquid known as shale oil, which is similar to petroleum and can be refined
into various substances, including diesel fuel, gasoline, and liquid petroleum
gas, according to National Geographic.
Some estimates put the volume of Jordan’s
oil shale deposits at 70 billion tonnes, spread across 60 percent of the
Kingdom’s total area.
The processUnder the newly signed memorandum, the
company will carry out an exploratory program lasting two years in the Lajjun
region over a land area of 15 square kilometers. Following this stage, it will
present an economic feasibility study for
exploiting oil shale via distillation
technology in cooperation with the international company Enefit.
Some estimates put the volume of Jordan’s oil shale deposits at 70 billion tonnes, spread across 60 percent of the Kingdom’s total area.
A production sharing agreement will be
signed after the feasibility studies are completed, Fakhoury said, emphasizing
the project's significance in creating new employment opportunities for skilled
Jordanians.
Sector opportunitiesKharabsheh also highlighted the
significance of the deal, and noted that the ministry is placing a heightened
emphasis on mineral resources because of the role they play in creating
economic value and increasing employment opportunities in the
exploration and
mining sectors.
He emphasized the need for Al-Majarrah to begin
working “as soon as possible” in order to generate results that can feed into
the project's subsequent phases.
Jordan's
mining industry is experiencing a
"quantum leap" after signing seven memoranda in 2022 focusing on
manufacturing industries to establish Jordan as a major player in the regional
and global mining industry, according to Kharabsheh.
The
Economic Modernization Vision defined the
sector as having a high industrial value, the minister said, highlighting that
efforts are underway to double the sector's contribution to the GDP. The deal signed
on Monday, he added, is consistent with these efforts.
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