Jordan is set to invest in the revolutionary global oil shale market, worth an estimated $2.88 billion in 2011, said the organisers of an upcoming energy summit in Amman.

The prospects for Jordan’s oil shale industry will be the topic of discussion at the Jordan Energy Investment Summit, to be held from October 10 to 12.

Currently, Jordan’s oil imports account for up to 20 per cent of its Gross Domestic Product (GDP). However, investing in oil shale will boost lucrative energy ex-ports and bring lower costs to the local market.

Jordan’s oil shale reserves are estimated to be able to meet the Kingdom’s energy needs for more than 900 years.

For this reason, Jordan is set to promote its oil shale reserves as a new source of energy, by adding 11 per cent to its energy mix in 2015, rising to 14 per cent in 2020.

It will do this by attracting private sector investment in the industry, specifically related to generating electricity through direct burning, surface retorting to produce oil and exploration of deep oil shale.

This research is supported by Demarco Epifanio, general manager Petrobras International Business Development Group.

“The benefits of oil shale in Jordan are dual; one is its geographical location and second, the country does not have any other oil source,” said Epifanio.

“Certainly, these large oil shale resources will generate major benefits to the country as they are high grade shale mines. There is also enough oil for the installation of an Oil Shale Industrialization Complex (including oil refining).”

“Petrobras and partners are still evaluating oil shale project feasibility, counting with the Kingdom of Jordan government support. Once its feasibility is proven, the oil shale project would solve infrastructure demands, energy supply and water shortage in the country,” he added.

Sessions at the summit will examine the Kingdom’s oil shale market potential, review current operations and review the latest stable incentives on offer, as well as environmental terms and benefits in collaboration with the Jordanian Natural Resources Authority.

Key players in the Kingdom’s oil shale projects will speak about their experiences in in-vestments and developments in the market to date, focusing on the importance of in-vestment in the Jordanian oil shale industry.

Attendees will be brought up to date with ground-breaking technology aiming at generating power and oil extraction from shale, the technical challenges with addressing expansion of the industry will be evaluated and a road-map to commercialization based on risk mitigation will be drawn up. – TradeArabia News Service