"We have presented the National Infrastructure Ministry and the Investment Authority of the Industry and Trade Ministry with the proposal, and hope to receive a license by the end of the year," said Moshe Shahal, a former Israeli energy minister who represents the developers. The cost of the plant is estimated at $700m. The patented technology developed a mix of shale and bitumen to produce oil. Mr Shahal said the technology was assessed by the chief scientist of the Energy Ministry in the mid-90s when he served as minister, and it was found to be economically and technical feasible. But the subsequent drop in oil prices led the ministry to shelve the idea, and the mothball development of Israel's large shale reserves, which are estimated at around 15bn tons. Mr Shahal said there is interest in the technology from a number of other countries with substantial shale reserves. Israel's Ministry of National Infrastructure, which incorporates the former Energy Ministry, has confirmed that talks are under way for granting a shale-mining license as well as a green light for the project. The proposal calls for the establishment of a plant at Mishor Rotem, south of Beersheba, where huge deposits of shale are located. Annually, the plant would use 6m tons of shale and 2m tons of bitumen to produce 3m tons of oil. The bitumen would be supplied by the Ashdod oil refinery through a 100-km pipeline, and a parallel pipeline would return the oil to the refinery for reprocessing. Mr Shahal said the study had been updated in recent months and assessed by Eco-Energy, a private Israeli energy consulting firm. The study estimated that, using this technology, oil could be produced at about $16-$17/brl. Eco-Energy also estimated that a 3-m ton plant would produce an annual profit of $50-$250m. Mr Shahal, who is a lawyer and represents the two engineers, said he has been in contact with major international companies in the energy sector that have expressed interest in the project. The engineers currently run a company called AFSK Industries which is active in the electromechanical and instrumentation fields. The tentative development timetable calls for construction to begin in 2007, with completion planned for 2010.