Amman, May 18 (IANS): Jordan's cabinet has approved the signing of an agreement with a Canadian energy company to develop oil shale, the state-run Petra news agency reported on Monday.

The council of ministers said the Canadian company Questerre Energy Corporation expressed willingness to invest around $1.4 billion in the project, the report said.

The approval is part of the government's efforts to rely on local resources and utilize oil shale reserves.

As part of the deal, the company will conduct studies in two areas in the south of Jordan to develop oil from oil shale.

The firm will start conducting initial technical and geological studies to come up with a feasibility study.

Jordan, which has over 40 billion tons of oil shale in reserves, imports currently about 96 percent of its energy at a cost of $2.8 billion annually, or 21 percent of its gross domestic product.

The country is implementing a strategy to increase self-produced energy to meet 60 percent of its consumption by 2020.