Kabul, Tashkent Launch New Push on Northern Afghanistan Oil Fields

DID Press: Taliban and government of Uzbekistan launched a new phase of cooperation aimed at advancing oil exploration in northern Afghanistan, as part of efforts to complete technical data and prepare for deep drilling.

Afghanistan’s Ministry of Mines and Petroleum of Afghanistan said two-dimensional seismic surveys have begun in three key blocks of the Afghan–Tajik oil basin, in partnership with a state-owned Uzbek company. The move is part of a bilateral memorandum of understanding on expanding hydrocarbon exploration in the north of the country.

The first phase of the surveys covers the Mohammad Jan, Ahmadabad and Shamar fields, spanning an area of about 7,617 square kilometers. The Afghan–Tajik basin, which stretches from northern Afghanistan into southern Tajikistan, is regarded as one of the region’s largest and most established hydrocarbon basins, with Jurassic, Cretaceous and Tertiary sedimentary layers considered conducive to oil and gas formation.

Officials at the ministry said the operation is intended to complete geological datasets and pave the way for attracting future investment in oil extraction. The head of the Uzbek partner company said Tashkent was ready to expand economic cooperation and strengthen good-neighbourly relations with Afghanistan