Future Policies and Strategies for Oil Shale Development in Jordan

Indigenous oil shale deposits could satisfy Jordan’s demand for liquid and gaseous fuels as well as electricity for many centuries. Markets also exist for raw and retorted oil shale, spent shale, and for sulfur recovered during the upgrading and refining of crude shale oil. Although the potential benefits of oil shale development are substantial, complex and expensive facilities would be required, and these have serious economic, environmental, and social implications for the Kingdom and its people. In January 2006, the United States Trade and Development Agency (USTDA) awarded a grant to the Jordanian Ministry of Planning and International Cooperation to support the analysis of current oil shale processing technologies and the application of international expertise to the development of a oil shale industry in Jordan. The goal of the technical assistance project was to help the Governement of Jordan (GoJ) establish short- and long-term strategies for oil shale development and to facilitate the commercial production of shale oil in the country. This paper discusses the results of the project. The Kingdom’s current energy situation and its previous work on oil shale are summarized, and the incentives and restraints on oil shale commercialization are described. Impediments to development are identified, and possible governmental responses are assessed.