The Jordanian government has almost concluded an agreement with Shell for the exploitation of the country's oil shale resources, the Director General of the Natural Resources Authority, Maher Hijazine, said Sunday, according to DPA. "We expect negotiations to be finalized by the end of October," Hijazine told the official Petra news agency. "A Shell team will visit Jordan shortly to conclude the negotiations," he added. The talks have been going on for the past few months. Hijazine pointed out that once the accord is signed, Shell would carry out "a marathon project in Jordan that paves the ground for the possible export of oil." Over the past year, Jordan has signed memos of understanding with four international firms to conduct feasibility and technical studies that set the stage for exploitation of the country's oil shale reserves, currently estimated at about 40 billion tons.
