AMMAN — Jordan is the fourth country in the world in terms of reserves of shale oil, with 70 billion tonnes of surface and ground reserves, Energy Minister Saleh Kharabsheh said on Sunday.

 

Delivering a lecture at the Royal Jordanian National Defence College for students in defence and war courses, Kharabsheh said that Jordan has started constructing the first station for direct burning of shale oil to generate 470 megawatts of electricity, noting that he expects the station to start operating in 2020.

 

He highlighted the ministry’s preparation of technical and economic studies, in addition to the search for technical support and soft loans for projects aimed at enhancing the energy efficiency in various sectors, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported.