India, which imports a chunk of phosphatic fertilisers from Jordan, is now targeting to jointly explore ways to mine shale gas with the Arab Kingdom in Western Asia. Both countries being energy deficit and large crude oil importers feel the need to exploit unconventional shale resources to cut down dependency on imports. ?Jordan could play an important role in our energy security paradigm, given the fact that it claims to have the second largest shale deposits in the world after the US,? Anil Trigunayat, Indian ambassador to Jordan, told FE in a recent interview.

In view of the Jordanian government?s stated plan to utilise shale gas as one of the alternate resources for meeting its energy needs, it would be useful to tap this potential by encouraging Indian companies? participation through joint venture projects, feels the Indian government. ?In my view, for us, in our food and energy security, Jordan can play a major role. We are importing over 65% of Jordan’s phosphate for our fertiliser sector,? said Trigunayat.

Jordan has shale deposits between 40-70 billion tonne with a potential to generate 35 billion barrels of oil scattered over 26 known localities.

Both nations would discuss mutual terms to monetise hydrocarbons when a business delegation of chief executives from Jordan, led by their trade and industry minister, would visit New Delhi in November for the 4th Indo-Arab Business Partnership Summit.

Trigunayat said several foreign companies are setting up shale-gas-based power plants in Jordan. ?An Indian company, al Qamerr, is involved with the Sultani Group. So to find alternative sources is their priority. Similarly, we have a good possibility in renewable especially solar energy ? given Jordan’s solar exposure and radiance almost through the year,? the ambassador explained.

Interestingly, exploration of unconventional resources such as shale gas in India would one of the top agendas for discussion when PM Narendra Modi visits the US later this month. The US has emerged as the world’s leading producer of shale gas and energy-deficient India, which has taken preliminary steps towards mining such hydrocarbons, needs technology to drive exploration. According to preliminary reports, India has huge shale deposits in coastal states, Assam, Gujarat and Rajasthan, among others. But no work has been done to verify the exact shale potential in India.

At present, India and Jordan do not have significant cooperation in the energy sector sector. The Arab Kingdom imports 97% of its energy needs, while India imports nearly 78% of crude oil. Therefore, the need for developing indigenous energy resources, including shale oil, sets as a priority on the national agenda of the Jordanian government.

According to the geological surveys conducted, the existing deposits underlie more than 60% of Jordan’s territory, of which 50 billion tonne are located in central Jordan alone. Jordanian oil shales are of high quality, comparable to western US oil shale although their sulphur content is usually higher. The major mineral components of Jordanian oil shale include calcite, quartz, kaolinite, and apatite, along with small amounts of dolomite, feldspar, pyrite, illite, goethite, and gypsum.

International players such as Saudi Arab Company for oil shale and Royal Dutch Shell and Al-Qamar Group of India, in collaboration with the Sultani Group, have been actively engaged in mining and exploiting this potential. Early in 2014, the Jordan’s cabinet approved signing of a pact to build the 470 megawatt first oil shale-fuelled power plant worth $2.4 billion by a joint Estonian-Malaysian consortium in Attarat.