Kabul: The Taliban government of Afghanistan signed the first international agreement with China to extract oil near the Amu River in the northern part of the country.
Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said that the agreement has been made for 25 years with the Chinese oil and gas company, which is part of a state-owned corporation.
According to the spokesperson, oil will be extracted from an area of 4,500 kilometers, the daily amount of oil extraction will be increased from 1,000 to 2,000 kilometers.
He said that the Chinese company will invest 150 million dollars in a year which will increase to 540 million dollars in the next three years.
He said that the Taliban government has a 20% share in the project, which can be increased to 75%.
The Taliban spokesman added that the Taliban will also receive 15 percent royalty from the 25-year deal.
He said that the oil coming out of Amu River will be refined in Afghanistan, thus Afghanistan will soon become self-sufficient in oil.
3,000 Afghan nationals are expected to get jobs through the project.
At the signing ceremony of the agreement, Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, Deputy Prime Minister for Economic Affairs of the Taliban government, said that it will strengthen Afghanistan’s economy and increase self-dependence on oil.
