OREANDA-NEWS. September 16, 2014. The state energy company wants to make the oil shale industry at least twice as efficient in the next 10 years, and continues to see oil production as promising.

The company plans to launch construction of a new Enefit280 technology-based oil refinery, ETV reported. The investment decision could be made next year and the plant would be ready by 2018 at the earliest.

The refinery would cost an estimated 250 million euros.

"The exact timetable depends on the oil price and financing terms," said CEO Sandor Liive. "We will certainly need investment certainty. Talks with the Environment Minister are under way this week already.

For Estonian shale oil to be profitable, world crude prices would have to be more than USD50 per barrel, it has been estimated, USD 65 for Eesti Energia's Utah project. Prices are currently in the neighborhood of USD 100, but the prices would have to be sustained over a long period.