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The Taliban-led government in Afghanistan has signed a contract with a Chinese company to extract oil from the Amu Darya basin and develop an oil reserve in the country's northern Sar-e Pul province. The contract was signed on Thursday by acting Mining and Petroleum Minister Sheikh Shahabuddin Delawar and an official of Xinjiang Central Asia Petroleum and Gas Co (CAPEIC) at a ceremony in the capital, Kabul.
It was the Taliban government's first major public resource extraction deal with a foreign company since taking power in 2021. Acting Deputy Prime Minister Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar and Chinese Ambassador to Afghanistan Wang Yu also witnessed the signing ceremony, the state-run Bakhtar News Agency reported. "Several projects have recently been approved by the Economic Commission, and with their commitment, fundamental steps will be taken for the prosperity of the country and the common good," the agency quoted Baradar as saying. "We request that the company continue the proceedings in accordance with international standards and in the interest of the people of Sar-e Pul," he added.
Speaking at the occasion, Delawar said that under the deal, the Chinese company will extract oil from an area of 4,500 square kilometers (1,737 square miles) collectively in the northern provinces of Sar-e Pul, Jawzjan and Faryab. "More than 3,000 local people will get jobs in this project," he said. The Chinese envoy called the deal important for the economic growth of the war-torn country and a positive step towards close relations between Kabul and Beijing.
“The Amu Darya oil contract is an important project between China and Afghanistan,” said Wang Yu. CAPEIC will invest $150 million a year in Afghanistan under the contract, Taliban-led government spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said on Twitter.
The investment would rise to $540 million over three years for the 25-year contract, he said. The Taliban-led government will have a 20 percent stake in the project, which could be increased to 75 percent, he added.
