A signatory to the agreement is also Polysuis AG, a subsidiary of Thyssenkrupp Group of Germany, which will prepare the designs, and install and maintain the equipment for the project.

Jordanian Energy Minister Khalid Touqan, Jordan’s Natural Resources Authority Chairman Maher Hijazin and KIO Deputy Chairman Chris Morgan signed the accord.

The agreement envisages the production of 15,000 barrels of oil per day over a period of five to seven years to be increased to 60,000 bpd in phased expansions.

Additional by-products will include sulphur and electrical power some of which to be fed into the country’s national grid.

The non-conventional oil venture will be based on surface mining of oil shale followed by the application of modern Canadian technology provided by the Thyssenkrupp Group utilizing thermal cracking and retorting methods.

The Jordanian government is expected to receive about $10 billion of revenues over the projected 30-year project life if oil prices reach their 2008 level of $120 per barrel, the statement said.

Official estimates put the country’s oil shale reserves at about 40 billion tons.