How Jordan Powers 1 Million People with Rocks

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Power is critical to any society-the more diverse a country's power grid, the stronger its people.
This brings us to the Attarat Power Company south of Amman, the capital city of Jordan.
Fed by a large deposit of oil shale (sedimentary rock with hydrocarbons trapped within), APCO built a two-235 MW turbine power plant to supply 15% of Jordan's power.
We visited the mining operation, specifically with Near East Equipment Company, Jordan's Komatsu dealer. We checked the stripping and oil shale mining operations, which featured the usual cast of enormous machines.
I had NO idea such an operation existed before we visited, which made for a fantastic day!

[@ronblack7870]

i wish you had also filmed the power plant and how it burns the shale and how much ash is left.

[@TomGoldie]

Burning shale oil releases CO2 to feed trees to capture moisture in the soil and transform the desert to oasis in addition to providing power to run the AC until biomass can provide. Don't let these biophobes shame you.

[@patrickr2686]

I wonder how much diesel they use very day

[@chrisb9319]

I somehow thought this would be a cool solution where they heat rocks up with solar power, so they can use the energy for electricity at night. But nope, just your average fossil fuel mining.

[@kalpeshwani8520]

Radiant eminent ....

[@rp1645]

Thank you so much ( Mr. Watt) 😊❤ for another great mine visit 😊❤ it's amazing that we can mine this Rock into OIL for production POWER, and with super size equipment can make a useful power out of just earth 🌎 your video are great. OIL rock in the ground can be easily harvested with the right size ( just little things like making the dump bed higher) mining dumps. You Rock my friend for showing this 😊❤😊

[@mhxxd4]

So glad I found this channel on my niche interests

[@DJ-bh1ju]

Where does the overburden go?.When the rock is burned where does IT go? Yes, it's desert, but is there a remediation plan?

[@mcspikesky]

Nobody wants to be there anyway.

[@Bowiiihowdy]

I'd imagine they throw the fly ash back into the old pits for reclamation

[@DJ-bh1ju]

@@Bowiiihowdy It'd make the most sense.

[@Bowiiihowdy]

@DJ-bh1ju if there's a bottom ash like coal plants they can also use it for cement.

[@darylkysar2478]

When you going to tour the antelope Rochelle mine in Wyoming?

[@leifmanson7599]

A long time ago, I did some research into historic gold deposits in the Dead Sea region, on the other side of the Sea from Jordan. I knew that there were shale oil deposits there, but this is the first that I've heard about them being mined. I bet they are just scratching the surface now. I say that because I went on to work about 15 years in the construction and servicing of the Canadian oil sands mines and steam extraction well pads. It's really cool to see how the Jordanians are doing it, what machines they are using etc. Thanks for the video.

[@douglascooper1987]

Very Interesting Stuff 🤔👍

[@gjohnston6052]

Young man knows who butters his bread.

[@heinekenczech]

Awesome vid

[@peterjones5720]

Surely if they covered that was wasteland in solar panels they will get more cleaner and sustainable power output?

[@jimmyr3591]

Great video as always. Have you ever thought about doing a video on mine planning and what goes into it or the various types of deposits that are mined around the world?

[@00000000000101010]

40 meters = more than 1 foot for your imperial folks.

[@bobwellman9717]

At 38.3 inches per meter, I would hope so.

[@raass233]

Some of us imperial folks also do tenths. Tenth of a foot that is.

[@ReefOoze]

or dont be backwards and use metric

[@bobwellman9717]

@@ReefOoze Haven't seen a metric impact yet...You got one???

[@cloggedpitot1]

How many bald eagles is that.

[@michaelseldon3815]

i can see two darker spots of seemingly rich shale moving with your lens

[@terrellscaife2411]

That’s really cool stuff. My thing is ROAD trucks

[@ppercut]

thort they would exstract the oil like they do in canada or is there not enuff oil in the rocks

[@jascollinscork]

Unbelievable setup there…. 💪🏼💪🏼💪🏼🤯🤯🤯 great video like 😍 but what’s surprising is that the dump truck ps don’t have side step/stairs up up across the front of them 🤷🏻 AND they have a 4th face shovel??

[@Dinoxt12]

Lot of action on that job...ever done a segment on the Alberta Canada, oil sand operation.

[@Bowiiihowdy]

He's got a whole bunch of videos on the oilsands

[@Useitorloseit1]

Would of liked to see how much ash or rock comes out of the power plant. Curious how oil impregnated rock burns. Time for a second segment.

[@BIBIWCICC]

Much better to start using solar, especially in Jordan.

[@paulbedichek5177]

You should write them a letter, shows the limitations of solar, when a place like Jordan that needs energy so badly and has such tremendous sun resources, uses this low grade resource. Every year we put more Carbon into the air than the year before, and there were uneducated people saying in the 60's that by 1970 solar would replace oil. China builds a new coal plant every few days.

[@watchthe1369]

Burning it like coal? the Jordanian Desert is just across the border from the Saudi "empty Quarter" the dust is finer than talc and abrasive as hell. The heat is naturally extreme, the low tech solution to getting energy out of the shale, the only question is how many MW in to get MW out? Is it a positive value?

[@felipeflorentino1339]

have a nice day my freind❤❤❤❤

[@CoreVisual]

That was a sweet hyper lapse at 7:37

[@SmashingBricksAU]

Komatsu's HD785. WA900, PC850. I am supposed that they are not using a PC1250 to load the trucks. We call the extra boards on the side of the haul trucks "Hungry Boards". Cool to see more Komatsu machines!

[@mohammadyounes593]

This mine deployed 2xPC1250 last month😂

[@chriswilliams8607]

So we burn 0,8 liters of oil to get one liter out.... and still people beliebe this is a good idea. Solar energy in Jordan would be such a cheap power that is completely absurd to do stuff like this.

[@tigerphid9677]

The United States has an estimated 2.2 trillion barrels of oil in its shale deposits.

[@unhippy1]

Lol you know you've been working as a mining boilermaker for too long when your looking at the wear package in the truck decks to see if they have improved over the factory pattern......

[@christophercale]

Another great video. Question: Due to the super dusty conditions at that location, do all of the cabs have any special air filtration installed? Is that the most dusty site you have visited?

[@matt45540]

That's what zero regulation gets you

[@goodson77784]

Hell no that is one step above slave labor.

[@amogusenjoyer]

​@@goodson77784no, operators aren't slave labor even in those countries. Also in the other video about phosphate, he showed that the cabins all had special air filtration iirc

[@goodson77784]

@@amogusenjoyer You cannot read apparently.

[@amogusenjoyer]

@@goodson77784 what I meant is that they are very well paid usually. They aren't even close to slave labor. Maybe it's different in Jordan in this mine specifically but generally speaking, for that area, working on natural resources like this is a very cushy job.

[@goodson77784]

You'd think there would be Light Sweet Crude in Jordan

[@zakburnett6690]

Tell me your an oil industry working in some form without telling me 😂😂

[@goodson77784]

@@zakburnett6690 busted.

[@UncleManuel]

"...for all you Imperial folks out there." It's so funny hearing that from an American. 😂😁😜🤘

[@brentancoates4421]

One of very few Americans with a brain

[@218philip]

Turn the music down!

[@TheDepthsDesire]

Mining❤

[@KnightTime13]

idk if its cause im high...but listening to you explain how they extended the truck beds upward was so confusting

[@unsatisfiedfans7422]

Is oil shale the same type as the oil sand?

[@AaronWitt]

It’s kind of similar in a sense that it’s both near the surface and can be mined, but it’s quite different beyond that

[@nt5434]

Similar premis, but sands are unconsolidated (Not properly rock yet), whereas shale is compressed clay (Heat and Pressure) so it's actually rock. Both contain oil that can be used. Too much heat and it all turns to natural gas.

[@CausticLemons7]

What are the dimensions of the dump bed? I'm wondering how much extra volume those additional 40 cm of height give them. My quick googling says the bed is 23 ft. 2 in x 16 ft. 11 in, so with the extra height that's about 400 cubic feet. Crazy scales these machines work at!

[@AndyFromBeaverton]

You rock Aaron!

[@AaronWitt]

you're too kind

[@stakman78]

Hilux hard. NZ style

[@leonardryan8723]

Why there just order bigger box for quarry trucks ? 😊

[@domtweed7323]

How do oil shales compare to coal in energy density?

[@davidanalyst671]

coal has a lot more economic sense, and moree dense. coal is super smoggy and causes lung problems, and it makes little greta cry

[@domtweed7323]

@@davidanalyst671 In that case, how is oil shale power viable in Jordan? (which boarders several countries with virtually unlimited natural gas as a byproduct of their oil operations).

[@matt45540]

​@@domtweed7323free is free, then you add in the fact that it adds some jobs locally. Even if they're all breathing in toxic dust all day, they're making money

[@GOOD_FARMER]

​@@davidanalyst671nope it depends on type and quality of coal.

[@amogusenjoyer]

​@@domtweed7323it's about independence and resources. Countries like Jordan just don't have enough foreign currency to buy everything off the international market. Even if it costs more in labor costs, etc, it doesn't matter as that's local. They can't just throw billions to buy Saudi oil, because they don't have billions of dollars. They have plenty of people that can work even if it's less efficient than burning oil.

[@jamesadams893]

Is the Jordanian government going to require that the landscape will be returned to its original configuration before mining when the operations are all done

[@johnd5805]

Original configuration? Desert is desert.

[@tywatts7834]

Plant trees and grass and make it green 💚

[@jamesadams893]

@@johnd5805 I know I was being sarcastic, Jordan is one big sandpile

[@user-br9bq9vu2d]

@@tywatts7834with no rain good luck

[@johnd5805]

@@jamesadams893 oh ok. I should recognize sarcasm. My ex co-worker was the most sarcastic women I've ever met in my life.

[@linggayoni]

Hai Aaron, when you will going to Indonesian mining in Bornea Island for coal mining... BTW I'm from Indonesia.

[@DarylVogel]

It is a low grade fuel very dirty, it works but cost a lot to mined... You do with what you have to...

[@Excavator2006]

0:52 ❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤

[@mittendj]

who is doing your colour grading for the video its all over the place.

[@watchthe1369]

it is toooooobbb not hollyweird.

[@ronblack7870]

i didn't even notice any issue . some people just need to complain.

[@andrewrees8749]

Get a life ...

[@johnhornblow4347]

A solar farm would be more cost effective and less destruction to the environment.

[@William-McCueRC]

Wrong

[@crakkbone]

Coal? I mean, coal is rocks. So most of the world does this.

[@glike2]

Dirt cheaper Solar and batteries will replace this very soon

[@yoel729]

מה המיקום של המכרה?

[@sargent420]

Is there something wrong with us “imperial folks”?

[@klepperkamarad]

That's 2 - 20 cm rail extensions on the truck beds. Jordan is expanding solar plants but seems a little slow compared to nearby countries. Fossil fuel is cheap in the short term but as our planet becomes less hospitable, the economic and social / cultural costs will become extreme.

[@davidanalyst671]

if they got oil rocks, they gotta have some pretty good nat gas deposits around there too... the usa stopped using diesel and gasoline for electric cause its 3X as expensive as nat gas...

[@terrybennett5576]

Cut down the volume of the damn guitars !

[@adityabohra1482]

This and oil sands are the dirtiest energy source 🤢

[@brandonrippeonphoto]

But I’m supposed to get rid of my ICE for the environment 🤔

[@johnd5805]

Yea. All of that is propaganda isn't it. al gore has 5 yuge houses that use a lot of electricity. They've all gotten rich in their lying.

[@zakburnett6690]

Yep while the government gets brand new trucks with zero emissions equipment

[@tristenklein5940]

Only if you want to become a Russian Serf to the State and the corrupt Ruling Class in charge!

[@kenselectricalserviceandge5919]

@@zakburnett6690 those rules don’t apply in Jordan lol

[@zakburnett6690]

@@kenselectricalserviceandge5919 I'm obviously not talking about some 3rd world sh|t hole buddy smarten up

[@dwaynejava]

CLIMATE CHANGE?????

[@rosewhite---]

The area was a depression that filled with silt and dead creatures during The Flood 4,370 years ago.

[@tomrogers9467]

Fairy Tale time, kids!

[@rosewhite---]

@@tomrogers9467 I bet yoir head is full of foairy tales - like how you are evolved from monkeys.

[@davedaves3489]

@@tomrogers9467 think again.

[@johnzach2057]

😂😂 That mine would be producing much more power if they just installed solar panels. It's just desert after all.

[@Machines.In.Action]

I never knew rocks could be used to generate electricity. This is a game-changer for renewable energy!

[@davidanalyst671]

he showed you this process in canada, insted of rocks, they call it oil shale

[@torbenmichalk3246]

Bro, it is not renewable because it Contains oil

[@matt45540]

This isn't renewable, That's why making misleading titles like we're getting energy from rocks dangerous.

[@tristenklein5940]

Renewable energy is 10 times more damaging to the environment than anything fossil fuels close to fossil fuels are natural decay of plant material in the earths crust all natural renewables are man-made with toxic nickel Cambian, cobalt, mercury, and other toxins that are not recyclable and requires specialized landfills after the 20 year lifespan has expired for windmill and solar

[@tristenklein5940]

@@Machines.In.Action do your research renewable energy is 100x more expensive damaging and dangerous to the environment than coal natural gas and oil.

[@thatonedude8900]

i wonder if they know in Jordan that we are trying to REDUCE emissions, not PRODUCE more of it

[@raass233]

Jordan is probably not concerned with your we.

[@adriangospodaru9733]

Stop washing your brain with the davos bullshit

[@wheressteve]

You can rest easy knowing they don't care.

[@chriswilliams8607]

Absolutely insane, with a fraction of that effort you could build solar and power all the cars that burn oil with cheap and clean power. Humanity is pretty absurd, they won't learn before oil is completely gone and they have burned and destroyed everything.

[@chrisward5626]

It’s disgusting seeing all those trucks and earth moved just to burn the rock and running 24/7 just to create electricity. That would have to be the most inefficient thing ever . Burning so much it takes 2 trucks dumping at a time 🤦‍♂️