From: Trend
Jordan has finalized a deal to construct an oil shale power plant, becoming the first Arab state to try to tap into the alternative energy resource, the country announced Saturday.
The power station comes as part of an agreement reached on Thursday between Amman and Enefit, an Estonian-Malaysian firm currently carrying out exploration in the country’s central region. Experts believe it has the potential to yield up to 38,000 barrels per day, dpa reported.
Under the multimillion-dollar deal, the Estonian firm is to construct a 450-megawatt power plant by 2016, the first of several planned projects to tap into Jordan’s estimated 40-billion-tonne oil shale reserves.
The plant is expected to shave some 490 million dollars off Jordan’s national annual energy bill, which has reached a near-record 5.6 billion dollars due to ongoing disruptions to the country’s gas reserves.
Securing energy independence has become an issue of national security for Jordan, which imports 98 per cent of its energy needs, costing one-fourth of the country’s gross domestic product.
Rising international oil prices prompted Amman to raise electricity rates earlier this month to tackle a 4.1 billion-dollar budget deficit, a move that has sparked a popular backlash.
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