Taliban authorities terminate 25-year oil exploration contract with Chinese enterprise, citing failure to invest as required and employ Afghans
According to Afghanistan's Al Jazeera News, the Taliban authorities' Ministry of Mines and Petroleum recently unusually announced the cancellation of a 25-year oil exploration contract signed with China's Xinjiang Central Asia Petroleum and Natural Gas Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as Central Asia Petroleum, locally known as Afchin) in the Amu Darya Basin.
The spokesperson for the Afghan Ministry of Mines and Petroleum stated that the reasons for the termination of the contract include: failure to invest as stipulated in the agreement, defects in the drilling and exploration work of designated wells, lack of necessary guarantees, failure to employ Afghan nationals, and negligence in fulfilling social, environmental, and capacity-building responsibilities.
The spokesperson for the Afghan Ministry of Mines and Petroleum, Homayoun, said on June 17: "A inter-ministerial joint committee was established, which found during the investigation that the contracting company repeatedly ignored issues related to contract implementation and failed to implement the contract. According to the recommendations of the office of the Deputy Prime Minister for Economic Affairs and the order of the Prime Minister's Office, the oil contract in the Amu Darya River area signed with Central Asia Petroleum was terminated."
It is understood that the Taliban authorities have not yet provided more details about the nature of the alleged violations. However, the ministry has called on international consulting companies to express interest in reviewing the legal and financial aspects of the contract and conducting technical assessments of the project area.
In 2023, the Taliban authorities signed a contract with Central Asia Petroleum to extract oil from the Amu Darya Basin in northern Afghanistan. This was the first major public commodity exploitation agreement signed by the Taliban government with a foreign company since regaining power in 2021. It is reported that according to this contract, Central Asia Petroleum committed to investing $150 million in the first year and a total of $540 million over three years.
The report pointed out that economic experts noted Afghanistan's urgent need for oil resources and emphasized the importance of strengthening reviews during the granting of mining projects. They believe that awarding such projects to companies with Afghan partners can prevent similar problems from arising in the future.
Economic analyst Mohammad Nabi said, "We are very in need of oil, and we must exploit it at any cost. If they take everything without operating, it will not benefit us or them. The government should avoid including clauses in future contracts that lead to such results and not let projects drag on like this one."
Another economic expert, Abdul Ghafor, said, "Afghanistan has many contracts signed several years or even decades ago, where the rights of both parties were not protected, and there was often no proper coordination between the contracting companies and the Afghan government."
Source: rfi
Original: https://www.toutiao.com/article/1836744515914752/
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