Jordan Energy and Mining Limited (JEML) is developing the Al Lajjun oil shale project, 110 kilometres south of Amman near the Dead Sea in western Jordan. The mining, processing facilities and supporting infrastructure are designed to process oil shale using the Alberta Taciuk Process (ATP) technology to produce an average 15,000 bpd of refinery-grade oil over a mine life of about 29 years.
Hatch completed the feasibility study (FEL 2) for the Al Lajjun oil shale project and was responsible for preparation of the overall study documentation and coordination of project input from five consulting firms engaged by JEML.
The project included the following:
- The above-ground Alberta Taciuk Process (ATP) retort technology interface
- Process design and development that enabled the plant to increase oil production levels
- Mine plan and development support
- Environmental impact assessment support
- Financial model development and analysis of project economics for various financial, capital and operating scenarios
- Integration of the content from several contributors into a consistent and cohesive feasibility study report.
This greenfield project required consideration of the local resources and skills available to establish the project execution strategy, operations requirements and costing.
The feasibility study was provided to the Jordanian government on July 5, 2009. On August 25, 2009 JEML received a letter of acceptance from the Government of Jordan without any requirement for further clarification, thus allowing the project to proceed to the next stages of development.
JEML established a site safety handbook whose guidelines were used as the basis for the safety requirements for team members visiting and working at the Al Lajjun site. Throughout the activities associated with the feasibility study, including the field resource drill program, geotechnical investigation and sample pit development, no recordable incidents were reported by any of the contractors providing services on the project.
