Afghanistan to Start Oil Extraction in 5 Months
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According to an official, Afghanistan’s oil extraction will begin within the next five months, as the nation expands its efforts to tap its oil reserves, estimated to be worth billions. The Amu Darya Basin, where the extraction work will be done, is estimated to hold almost 90 million barrels of oil.
According to an official, Afghanistan’s oil extraction will begin within the next five months, as the nation expands its efforts to tap its oil reserves, estimated to be worth billions. The Amu Darya Basin, where the extraction work will be done, is estimated to hold almost 90 million barrels of oil.
The extraction, a first in Afghanistan, will begin by October in the Afghan-Tajik Zone, one of the major oil deposits along the Amu Darya Basin. The deposits are said to contain about 87 million barrels of oil, relatively little but significant for an impoverished country that is still recovering from three decades of war.
Afghanistan, who is heavily dependent on Western aid, currently imports all of its energy sources from its Central Asia neighbours and Iran.
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Speaking to the AFP, Ministry of Mining spokeman Jawad Omar said:
[quote] The maximum production at the beginning will be 5,000 barrels a day but this will eventually increase to 45,000 barrels a day. [/quote]
Under a deal signed last December with China National Petroleum Cooperation, the oil will be processed in refineries already being built within Afghanistan, with Kabul taking 70 percent of the net profits on top of a 15 percent corporation tax. Preliminary operations have already started in the area.
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The Afghan government has also signed a deal with a Dubai-based Canadian company to start oil exploration in other areas in the northern part of the country, a relatively peaceful region.
[quote] Citing aerial studies, the United States Geological Survey (USGS) says that the war-scarred country sits on more than $1 trillion worth of minerals, including oil, copper and iron. [/quote]
Despite such reports on the abundance of natural resources in Afghanistan, many experts still believe that it is too early to talk about the exact value of those reserves.
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