Energy, Estonia, Legislation

If the studies prove to be successful, Enefit is interested in developing Moroccan oil shale resources and offering its well proven Enefit technology for shale oil production as well as unique expertise for power production to Morocco.

Enefit's CEO Mr Sandor Liive commented on the event by saying: "There is great interest in the world for Enefit's shale oil processing know-how. Even though we are only performing preliminary studies here in Morocco, after which we will be able to say more about the characteristics of its oil shale deposits, we are happy to be offering our expertise and the world’s most efficient Enefit shale oil production technology to oil shale countries. Exporting our know-how will become a very significant part of our business in the future."

Morocco is home to some of the world's largest oil shale deposits, while the country is at the moment importing 95 percent of its energy. That is why the country has launched a strategy for developing its national oil shale resources. Moroccan total shale oil in place has been estimated at 50 billion barrels, a level which ranks the country amongst the world leaders in respect of in place shale oil. Oil shale deposits have been identified at ten localities in Morocco. The two deposits that have been explored the most extensively are the Tangier and Timahdit deposits.

Enefit has previously signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Jordanian Government, after which feasibility studies were carried out. The National Resource Authority of Jordan then entered into concession negotiations with the company in order to agree on a long-term use of oil shale deposits. The agreement has now been reached and is awaiting Government approval.

Enefit is the largest oil shale to energy company in the world and has almost 90 years of oil shale experience in Estonia. Enefit's shale oil processing technology, currently operational in Estonia, is the world's most efficient and environmentally friendly. It is also a proven technology that creates additional value by using the excess heat and co-produced retort gas for power production. A new plant operating on this technology is already being constructed in Estonia.