KABUL, SAR-I-PUL (Pajhwok): The acting minister of mines and petroleum has inaugurated the extraction of crude oil from one of the Qashqari oilfields in northern Sar-i-Pul province.
Speaking on the occasion, Minister Shahabuddin Dilawar said 70 metric tonnes of oil was currently extracted from the well per 24 hours.
Pajhwok Afghan News previously reported that work on exploring oil and digging up the well had begun in April 2022.
At the inaugural ceremony, Dilawar called the Qashqari oilfields in Sar-i-Pul were an important source of revenue that would be spent on the reconstruction of Afghanistan.
Dilawar promised, priority would be given to the employment of local technical and non-technical workers. Sar-i-Pul’s reconstruction would be a priority in utilisation of the revenue from the oilfields.
Meanwhile, Deputy Governor Mullah Mohammad Nader Haqjo affirmed the government’s commitment to using domestic resources for the development of the country.
The Islamic Emirate had undertaken schemes that could not be implemented over the past two decades, the official commented.
Maulvi Abdul Basir Mazhari, the police chief, vowed to ensure security of all oilfields and other mines across the province.
Currently, 70 tonnes of crude oil is pumped out of the well per 24 hours, local authorities say.
The Ministry of Finance (MoF) confirmed the state-owned oil and gas company has started oil extraction from the Qashqari oilfield together with the Chinese firm — AfgChin.
Zabihullah Mujahid, spokesman for the government, tweeted Afghanistan would become self-sufficient in oil production in near future.
Eng. Khan Jan, an official of AfgChin, said there had been no extraction from the country’s oilfields so far. It is the first time oil is extracted from a well in Afghanistan, according to him.
aw/mud
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