First oil well drilled in northern Afghanistan - 500 Beiträge pro Seite

[KaOzz]

First oil well drilled in northern Afghanistan

Aug 28, 2010
By Stephanie Dearing.

The pumping of crude oil from northern Afghanistan will soon be a reality now that construction of the first well is underway. The value of oil fields in northern Afghanistan were recently pegged as being worth billions of dollars.

Experts have known since at least 2006 that the hydrocarbon resources lying under the surface of northern Afghanistan were a significant treasure, should anyone be able to access the riches. The latest survey revealed the extent of that wealth is larger than thought. The announcement of the find of another oil field has raised the value of Afghanistan's crude oil resources at just over $1 trillion, reported the Press Association. The newest field is expected to be open to tender early next year reported Radio Free Europe. The Ministry of Mines announced the new find.

Afghanistan has long been known for it's natural gas and minerals. The lastest finds of crude oil has created a buzz for the nation, but the trick, given the ongoing civil war, is extraction. Until recently, the fighting had been concentrated in northern Afghanistan. A recent calming of hostilities in the north has meant the construction of the first oil well could begin. Reuters reported American interests are behind the first oil well, but said Afghanistan officials would not reveal any details. It is not known when the first oil will be produced.

The oil is found in what was a hot arena in Afghanistan's civil war. Just last year, the mujahideen claimed control over the region known as Sar-i-pul. However, it appears that efforts by NATO forces in northern Afghanistan have paid off. The BBC reported earlier this month that business was thriving in the region, while the conflict has moved to the south of the country.

The Gulf News reports Afghanistan's new-found wealth has prompted some nations to throw their hats into the ring, pledging support this past week for the democratic government of Afghanistan in the fight against the Taliban. Time reported Russia plans to spend billions developing infrastructure and developing the buried mineral reserves, as well as pumping funds into Afghanistan's military.

Canada and the United States had said they would pull out of Afghanistan in 2011, but the new discovery of oil has prompted some pundits to predict the USA will not pull out.
The World Bank has given Afghanistan grants to help the country develop crude oil and mineral resources, which are owned by the government.

Afghanistan hopes to increase its annual revenues from mining to a billion dollars a year. Currently the government said it earns around $20 to $25 million a year from mining alone. However, development of Afghanistan's resources requires a large security contingent due to the Taliban insurgency.

The CIA Factbook sums up the challenges:

"... Afghanistan is extremely poor, landlocked, and highly dependent on foreign aid, agriculture, and trade with neighboring countries. Much of the population continues to suffer from shortages of housing, clean water, electricity, medical care, and jobs. Criminality, insecurity, weak governance, and the Afghan Government's inability to extend rule of law to all parts of the country pose challenges to future economic growth. Afghanistan's living standards are among the lowest in the world. While the international community remains committed to Afghanistan's development, pledging over $57 billion at three donors' conferences since 2002, the Government of Afghanistan will need to overcome a number of challenges, including low revenue collection, anemic job creation, high levels of corruption, weak government capacity, and poor public infrastructure."

The Montreal Gazette reports that the Afghanistan government blames the West for the corruption. Spokesman for the president, Waheed Omer said

"Our international partners provided the ground for some people in Afghanistan to become unbelievably rich. Some people (have) become an economic mafia in Afghanistan."

While progress developing infrastructure and capacity has been steady in northern Afghanistan, stability still remains elusive, reports the Bangkok Post.



http://www.digitaljournal.com/article/296706

[KaOzz]

Noch ein Artikel mit einigen weiteren Infos zu den Rohstoffvorkommen in Afghanistan:


Afghanistan drills oil for first time in north with "US role"

Afghanistan's Mines Ministry plans to open bidding soon for contracts to refine the oil from the rugged Sar-i-Pul province in the north.

Thursday, 26 August 2010 16:33

Afghanistan, believed to be sitting on top of billions of dollars worth of minerals and energy sources, has extracted oil for the first time and plans to pump a modest 800 barrels a day, officials said on Thursday.

Afghanistan's Mines Ministry plans to open bidding soon for contracts to refine the oil from the rugged Sar-i-Pul province in the north.

"The infrastructure existed there a long time ago. We overhauled them and this is the first time we are extracting oil," said Jawad Omar, a spokesman for the ministry.

Omar said "a foreign institution" had helped with the Sar-i-Pul extraction but would not give any more information. (wer diese Institution wohl sein soll, Gerüchte geben ein amrikanischen Wert an, der bereits im Irak auf nem fetten Oil-Deal sitzt...)

Sayed Anwar Rahmati, the governor of Sar-i-Pul, told Reuters the project had had Americans help but gave no further details.

Various estimates of Afghanistan's hidden wealth have been made in recent years -- some as high as $3 trillion -- but the challenge of exploiting those resources in a country under occupation and with little infrastructure has been too daunting for most investors.

Earlier this month, the Mines Ministry announced the find of an oilfield in the north with an estimated 1.8 billion barrels of oil north of Sar-i-Pul. Plans also remain on track for the tender of a 1.6 billion barrel Afghan-Tajik oil block in early 2011.

The north is Afghanistan's key basin for oil and gas.

Most of Afghanistan's oil needs are met by vast convoys trucked across the borders from Central Asia and Pakistan. (wo sich ein Problem für den Export in späterer Zeit darstellt, da Afghanistan an keinem Ozean liegt, um zu verschiffen, man wird mal schauen müssen, wie es um Pipelines bestellt ist)

Both the U.S. Embassy and USAID said they were "not aware" of who was involved in the project.

Afghanistan and foreign forces numbering almost 150,000 troops consume 2.5-3.0 million tonnes of oil annually, Omar said.

"Foreign institutions"

The ministry this week started to re-inject gas from three gas wells which have a capacity of more than 200 million cubic metres of gas and are a key source for a fertilizer plant in Balkh province to the north of Sar-i-Pul, Omar said.

Foreign institutions have also pledged to invest $400 million in coming years to replace gas pipelines linking Balkh and the adjacent province of Jawzjan province, he said.

Afghanistan exported gas to the former Soviet Union during the Soviet occupation of the 1980s.

The U.S. Defense Department estimated earlier this year that Afghanistan's mineral resources could top $1 trillion.

Afghanistan will retender by year-end a deposit of iron of 1.8 billion tonnes it had scrapped earlier this year due to the global recession and changes in world markets.

The untapped mineral resources include iron ore, copper, lithium, oil gas and gems which Afghanistan hopes to develop in coming years.

China's top integrated copper producer, Jiangxi Copper Co and China Metallurgical Group Corp, in 2007 became the first major investor in Afghanistan.

They are involved in the exploration of the vast multi-bilion dollar Aynak Copper Mine to the south of Kabul.


Agencies


Eine Wahnsinns-Zusammenfassung über ein Land im Kriegszustand

[invest2002]

nun wird auch klar, warum die usa mit truppen in afghanistan sind

[RICHARD5000]

Antwort auf Beitrag Nr.: 40.100.920 von invest2002 am 04.09.10 16:46:14

Nutzt aber alles nichts, wenn das Unternehmen nicht Börsennotiert ist

[Hadock]

Antwort auf Beitrag Nr.: 40.102.554 von RICHARD5000 am 05.09.10 15:45:14

Hallo,

im TV gab es mal vor vielleicht 3 Jahren ein Reportage über einen Österreicher, der in Afghanistan nach Erdöl/Erdgas bohrt. Die Reortage kam, so weit ich mich erinnern kann im Weltspiegel/Auslandsjournal.
Für wen der Österreicher gearbeitet hat, ob mit eigener Firma oder im Auftrag keine Ahnung.
Nur sagte er in einem Interview das er unter dem Schutz der ISAF sicher bohren kann.

[KaOzz]

Antwort auf Beitrag Nr.: 40.102.554 von RICHARD5000 am 05.09.10 15:45:14

Man sollte die Entwicklung in Afghanistan beobachten.

Ich hab gehört, dass das Unternehmen börsengehandelt sein soll - das liegt auch nahe, da niemand nennen will, welcher ausländische Partner sich beteiligt (Kurs würde vermutlich sonst anziehen oder das Unternehmen in die Kritik geraten)

Jedenfalls wird es so sein, dass sich in dem Land bald Explorer niederlassen werden, wenn die Truppen abmarschieren und die Politik nicht kollabiert.

Werde mal die diesbezüglichen Nachrichten mit hier einstellen.

Grüße

[KaOzz]

Antwort auf Beitrag Nr.: 40.102.781 von Hadock am 05.09.10 18:23:24

"Unter dem Schutz der ISAF sicher bohren"

Das klingt gerade nach nem zweckmäßigen Zusammenhang zwischen Militär und Rohstoffvorkommen

[KaOzz]

Antwort auf Beitrag Nr.: 40.776.912 von KaOzz am 30.12.10 01:48:14

[KaOzz]

China kauft sich in Afghanistan ein

Das Reich der Mitte sichert sich weltweit lukrative Rohstoffvorkommen - auch in Afghanistan. China National Petroleum hat nun den ersten Ölkontrakt des Landes gewonnen. von Frank Bremser

weiterlesen

[KaOzz]

Australien wird zur Rohstoffkolonie Chinas...