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The Jordanian government has signed a number of deals with Attart Power Company APCO to generate power for shale.
The Jordanian News Agency said the joint venture of Estonian Enefit and Malaysian YTL International will generate 470 megawatts of electricity through direct shale oil combustion.
The total value of the investment stands at around $2.2bn.
Prime Minister Abdullah Ensour said at the signing ceremony that shale oil exploitation is now a reality as the initial phase of the project will deliver around a one-sixth of the Kingdom’s total power consumption.
In later stages, he added, the project is set to produce crude oil.
The Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources, Mohammad Hamid, who inked the deal with APCO’s project director, Andres Anijalg and other company executives, described the venture as the first in the Middle East and North Africa to employ direct combustion technology in exploiting oil shale deposits.
He said the 460-megawatt thermal fired plant will be constructed in the central region of Attarat, 100km south of Amman on a plot of 37km2.
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