- 200 tonnes of oil is being extracted from nine wells in the Kashkari basin.
- Officials expect the extraction of oil to increase to more than 1,000 tonnes.
- The Taliban had signed an agreement last year to extract oil from the Chinese company.
Taliban-led Afghanistan has started pumping oil from wells of the Kashkari oil field in Sar-e-Pul province. anadolu Reported on Sunday.
“Priority will be given to employment of technical and non-technical staff and reconstruction of the mine using the revenue of Sar-e-Pul.” bakhtar news agency Acting Mines and Petroleum Minister Sheikh Shahabuddin Delawar was quoted as saying.
His comments came during the opening ceremony of the wells which was attended by several senior Taliban officials.
Describing the country’s mines as an important economic source, Delaware said that the people of Afghanistan should fully exploit the resources of the mines.
Mullah Mohammad Nader Haqjo, acting governor of Sar-e-Pul, said the country was focusing on its development through internal resources. He also assured that the incomplete projects in the last 20 years would be finalised.
According to a statement issued by the Ministry of Mines and Petroleum, there are 10 wells in the Kashkari basin and about 200 tonnes of oil is being extracted from nine.
However, the authorities hope to increase the extraction capacity from 200 tonnes to more than 1,000 tonnes.
The Taliban last year signed an agreement with a Chinese company to extract oil from Sar-e-Pul.
In addition, the interim Afghan Taliban government and a Chinese firm also closed a 25-year deal to extract oil from the Amu River Basin and develop an oil reserve in the north.
The Chinese company will initially invest $150 million which will be increased to $540 million over three years.
Afghanistan has untapped resources worth over $1 trillion which attract foreign investors.
