Oil & Gas

KABUL (Pajhwok): A natural gas power station is being constructed at a cost of $75 million in northern city of Mazar-i-Sharif, officials said on Wednesday.

The station would jointly be constructed by privately-owned Ghazanfar Group and World Bank (WB).

An agreement about the building of the project was signed by officials of ministries of mines, energy and water and finance and representatives of Ghazanfar Group and WB in Kabul.

HERAT CITY (Pajhwok): Iran is ready to export its natural gas to Afghanistan through laying a pipeline under an agreement between the two countries, an Iranian diplomat said on Monday.

Mahmud Afkhami Rashedi, the Iranian Consul General in western Herat province, said his country was ready to start laying the pipe and export gas into Herat. He said Herat residents would benefit from gas, which was environmental-friendly and would develop local industry and improve peoples’ economy.

ZARANJ (Pajhwok): The customs department of southwestern Nimroz province on Saturday announced seizing 150 truckloads of low-quality fuel imported from neighbouring Iran.

The Council of Ministers banned inferior fuel imports this year, Customs Director Wais Sultani said, asking the importers to return the low-quality oil.

But the traders said they had placed orders for the import of “diesel 50” before the start of 2014; their tankers could not reach the border in time due to certain problems.

SAR-I-PUL CITY (Pajhwok): Residents of northern Sar-i-Pul province on Sunday accused the authorities of failing to keep its promises of employing locals on the Amu River fuel extraction project.

Muhammad Ibrahim, a resident of Sar-i-Pul, told Pajhwok Afghan News the fuel extraction process had been underway for the last two years but a single local had not been hired so far.

Azizullah, another dweller of the locality, said he had been jobless for two years. “The government had promised to accommodate us. People should be given jobs to remove their sense of deprivation.”

KANDAHAR CITY (Pajhwok): The smuggling of liquefied gas to Pakistan has resulted in increased prices of the commodity in southern Kandahar province, dealers alleged on Thursday.

They said people could not afford buying gas due to its high rate, urging the government to prevent smuggling of gas to the energy-deficient neighbouring country.

A gas dealer in Kandahar City’s Herat Bazaar, told Pajhwok Afghan News that the price of one kilogram of gas had shot up from 45 and 50 afghanis a month back to 70 and 75 afs today.

MAZAR-I-SHARIF (Pajhwok): Businessmen from the northern zone said on Friday the prolonged election process had left a deeply negative impact on trade activities and dealt a severe blow to security.

Businessmen said the government needed to shift its focus to resolving the problems being encountered by the traders particular those in the fuel business.

ArashYounusi, secretary of the Balkh Chamber of Commerce, told Pajhwok Afghan News the current election stalemate had left commerce and trade activities paralysed throughout the country.

KABUL (Pajhwok): A delegation of Wolesi Jirga, investigating the torching of hundreds of fuel tankers, said on Monday some security and supply officials were linked to the arson attack.

But the Ministry of Interior (MoI) denied the involvement of security personnel in setting on fire the oil tankers. It said an investigation report on the issue had also been shared with the Attorney General Office.

KABUL (Pajhwok): The Ministry of Commerce on Wednesday suspended the licence of Mahmood Jalil & MJ Energy on the charge of inflating bids for liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) imports from Turkmenistan

Musafar Qoqandi, the ministry’s spokesman, told a press conference in Kabul the issue had been referred to the Attorney General Office (AGO) for further investigation.

He alleged the two companies were responsible for rising the per ton price of LPG by $212. He said the Foreign Ministry had been informed of the licence suspension.

KABUL (Pajhwok): The Afghanistan Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ACCI) on Thursday linked high gas prices to its smuggling to Pakistan, saying the petroleum and gas department had lost $57 million in revenue as a result.

ACCI official Faridullah Sherzai told a news conference some people within the government misused their positions and damage the economy by facilitating gas smuggling to the neighbouring country.