Jordan Strike Another Major Oil Shale Deal

Karak International Oil, a subsidary of UK’s Jordan Energy & Mining Ltd. has signed a  US $1.8 billion shale oil deal with Jordan's Natural Resources Authority.

Under the deal, Jordan will extract oil from the Al Lajjuna concession, an  area of 22 square kilometers  in the Karak Governorate,  110 kilometers south of the capital Amman.

Production is scheduled to start in 2014 and is expected to reach an average of 15,000 barrels per day of oil equivalent in 2016, after which it may be increased to 60,000 bpd in phased expansions.

According to the Natural Resources Authority data, the Kingdom, which imports about 95% of its energy needs, is estimated to have 45 billion metric tons in oil-shale deposits.

This represents the third major deal signed by Jordan  in recent years.  Last year, Jordan signed a concession agreement with Estonia's Eesti Energia to explore oil and gas resources from part of Attarat Um El-Ghudran region in southern Jordan. Previously, in 2009, it concluded a deal with Shell.