Business

Taliban govt starts extracting oil in Afghanistan

Published

2 years ago

Farwa

200 tonnes of oil being extracted from nine wells in Qashqari basin.
Officials hope to increase extraction of oil to more than 1,000 tonnes.
Taliban signed agreement with Chinese firm last year to extract oil.

The Taliban-led Afghanistan has begun the oil extraction from the wells in the Qashqari oilfield in Sar-e-Pul province, Anadolu reported on Sunday.

“Priority will be given to the employment of technical and non-technical staff and the reconstruction of the mine using the revenues of Sar-e-Pul,” the Bakhtar News Agency quoted acting Mines and Petroleum Minister Sheikh Shahabuddin Delawar as saying.

His comments came during an inauguration ceremony of the wells which was attended by several senior Taliban officials.

Terming the country’s mines as an important economic source, Delawar said that the people of Afghanistan should fully harness the sources of the mines.

Mullah Mohammad Nadar Haqjo, who is the acting governor of Sar-e-Pul, said that the country is focusing on its development through internal resources. He also assured that the incompleted projects in the last 20 years will be finalised.

According to a statement issued by the Mines and Petroleum Ministry, there are 10 wells in the Qashqari basin and about 200 tonnes of oil is being extracted from the nine.

However, the officials hope to increase the capacity of extraction from 200 tonnes to more than 1,000 tonnes.

The Taliban signed an agreement with a Chinese company last year to extract oil from Sar-e-Pul.

Moreover, the interim Afghan Taliban government and a Chinese firm also closed a 25-year deal for the extraction of oil from the Amu River basin and the development of an oil reserve in the north.

The Chinese company will initially invest $150 million which will be increased to $540 million in three years.

There is more than $1 trillion worth of untapped resources in Afghanistan which attract foreign investors.

Business

E&P Companies Will Invest $5 Billion in Pakistan’s Petroleum Industry

Published

1 day ago

Farwa

Over the next three years, local and foreign companies involved in Pakistan’s oil and gas exploration and production sector have shown a strong desire to invest more than $5 billion in the nation’s energy sector.

Recent changes to the Petroleum Policy and the implementation of an exclusive tight gas policy, which provide better incentives and a more investor-friendly regulatory framework, are credited with the increase in investor confidence.

These strategic changes are expected to boost domestic energy production, open up new avenues for growth, and draw large amounts of both domestic and foreign investment.

Business

With inflation slowing, the SBP is anticipated to lower the policy rate for the eighth time in a row.

Published

1 day ago

Farwa

Businesspeople anticipate another reduction in the policy rate when the State Bank of Pakistan’s (SBP) Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) releases the updated rate.

The interest rate for the upcoming two months will be announced by the central bank. It is still unclear if the rate will stay the same or be lowered to reflect stakeholder expectations.

According to experts, the policy rate will be lowered in order to further boost the nation’s economic sector.

Interest rates may be lowered for the seventh time in a row if the inflation rate declines significantly more than anticipated.

In its last six sessions, the MPC had cut the policy rate by 10 percent. In January 2025, it decreased the rate by one percent to 12pc.

12PC POLICY RATE

In January, the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) announced cut in key policy rate by 100 basis points (bps) to 12 percent from 13pc in line with expectations of the business community.

The policy rate, which had been at 22 percent since June 2024, was slashed by 1,000 basis points to 12 percent.

The SBP governor said the decision was taken with careful consideration. “Although inflation is expected to decline next month (February), core inflation remains a pressing concern,” he stated.

Ahmed highlighted strong remittance inflows and robust export growth as key factors supporting the current account.