San Leon Energy has signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the Office National des Hydrocarbures et des Mines (ONHYM) in Morocco, granting San Leon exclusive rights to a 36 sq km (14 sq miles) block in the Timahdit oil shale deposit, according to a news release.

The two-year agreement is to evaluate the commercial viability of a surface retorting (process yielding shale oil through pyrolysis and vapor condensation) project on the prolific Timahdit oil shale deposits, a release said.

Recent analysis by Enefit OutotecTechnology (EOT) has confirmed that the Timahdit oil shale has commercial potential using Enefit's surface retorting process and further raw shale oil upgrading. As a result of low moisture content in the Timahdit shale, the oil project will have an output capacity for power generation as a side product, according to the release.

EOT has completed an Initial Evaluation Study using historical exploration data to evaluate the commercial potential of exploiting Timahdit oil shale using the Enefit280 plant design, which processes up to 280 tons of oil shale per hour. The study considers an initial Enefit retorting unit producing 3,600 b/d of raw shale oil, the release said. Two additional Enefit units could be added to increase production up to 11,000 b/d, and would include synthetic oil upgrading and power generation facilities.

As a result of the positive results of the initial evaluation of the Timahdit oil shale, and San Leon's successful award of the Timahdit shale oil block, San Leon and EOT have agreed to extend the scope of their existing cooperation to cover the Timahdit concession, the release said. The companies plan to select a large sample of the Timahdit oil shale for extensive evaluation in EOT's laboratories in Frankfurt, Germany. In the meantime both companies continue to progress the extensive engineering and commercial analysis required to make Timahdit oil shale a reliable energy resource for Morocco.