OREANDA-NEWS. July 04, 2014. The construction of a new oil shale power plant in Jordan has been greenlighted and a contract with the government and an Estonian-Malaysian company should be signed soon. 

The Attarat Power Company (APCO), a subsidiary of Estonian state energy giant Eesti Energia, and its partners will develop an oil shale plant in the Attarat Um Ghudran oil shale deposit in Jordan.

Minister of Finance Jurgen Ligi told ETV on Tuesday that the 6-year-long negotiations were long and it did not go smoothly.

The CEO of Eesti Energia Sandor Liive said the contribution of Estonians has been centered on their experience with oil shale - geology as well as preparing and choosing the technology necessary for energy production.

APCO’s board member Andres Anijalg told Estonian radio on Tuesday that the deal is a good opportunity for export its know-how and is also crucial for Jordan in decreasing its energy dependence from its neighbors, currently at 90-95 percent.

Eesti Energia has been scaling back its share because the policy with foreign projects is to include other investors if the size of investments increases significantly.

Since Jordan lacks a free market for energy, the government will guarantee purchase of energy for at least 30 years, possibly longer. According to Liive, construction on the plant will begin in about a year. The total cost of the plant is 2.4 billion dollars and is expected to be completed by 2018.