Oil extraction in N. Afghanistan to begin in 5 months

Afghanistan’s Ministry of Mines has announced that oil extraction from the northern Amu Darya Basin will begin during the next five months, Press TV reports. Ministry officials noted that an estimated daily amount of 5,000 barrels of crude will be extracted from the basin in the initial phase of the plan. The figure will increase to 45,000 barrels per day (bpd) in the later phases of development. Amu Darya Basin is situated in Faryab and Sar-e Pol provinces in northern Afghanistan and, based on Afghan government’s estimate, contains about 87 million barrels of crude oil. The Afghan government has signed a contract with China National Petroleum Corporation for oil extraction from Amu Darya Basin and the company has taken preliminary measures in this regard. 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. Despite 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.