Yay, there is Oil in Afghanistan!

[Catillina]

But, the question is, who will extract it?
New doubts about the motivation for this war surge...


Survey finds oil in northern Afghanistan




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KABUL, Afghanistan
A preliminary survey has found that Afghanistan may have 1.8 billion barrels of oil in the north of the country, an official said Sunday.
The survey by Afghan and international geologists found the possible oil field between Balkh and Jawzjan provinces, said Jawad Omar, spokesman for the Ministry of Mines.
He said the survey would be reviewed and a statement about the possible field is expected by the end of the year or early in 2011. He gave no further details.
Last June, Afghan officials said U.S. geologists believe the country has nearly $1 trillion in mineral resources, although it could take decades and peace with the Taliban and other insurgents before it can be fully exploited.
Oil was first discovered in Afghanistan in 1959 in the country's part of the Amu Darya and Afghan-Tajik basins of the north.
A 2006 report by the U.S. Department of Energy estimated that Afghanistan has about 1 billion barrels of recoverable oil, although the U.S. Geological Survey the same year put the figure at nearly 2 billion barrels.
By comparison, Saudi Arabia has about 264 billion barrels of crude reserves and currently produces about 8 million barrels per day out of its overall output capacity of around 12 million barrels per day.


http://www.businessweek.com/ap/financialnews/D9HJSPEO0.htm

[Admiral Swagmeister G-Funk]

That doesn't seem like a lot of oil.

[Red Commissar]

One interest of the United States (and the west in general) in Afghanistan is to construct a pipeline that would come from Turkmenstan, through Afghanistan, and then go to ports in Pakistan.

That way western nations would have a direct and more importantly "friendly" route into Central Asia to exploit their resources.

[thesadmafioso]

Sounds a lot like the supposedly recent news that Afghanistan is also a source of a variety of other natural resources that are worth billions of dollars. http://www.npr.org/blogs/money/2010/06/14/127834173/will-afghanistan-fall-victim-to-the-resource-curse

Then again, this just so happened to emerge right around a time when the US and President Obama really needed some additional support for this war and talks of a troop surge were occurring, if I recall correctly. The best part about it though is that the Soviets knew about this supposed treasure trove of resources back in the 80's.

Same concept though, the American war machine just trying to justify its occupation and the necessity of extended actions in the regions further.

[Aesop]

One interest of the United States (and the west in general) in Afghanistan is to construct a pipeline that would come from Turkmenstan, through Afghanistan, and then go to ports in Pakistan.

That way western nations would have a direct and more importantly "friendly" route into Central Asia to exploit their resources.

Been reading John pilger?

[erupt]

That doesn't seem like a lot of oil.
It's still enough to make a quick buck though, ain't it? I'm sure Karzai and his cronies will cash in on that deal some way or the other...

[scarletghoul]

Oil, arms, and opium are the 3 biggest trades in the world. This war is great for business, and it was extraordinary luck to have the 9/11 masterminds living in such a country..

[Red Commissar]

Been reading John pilger?

No, I read it here sometime ago in articles relating to the Pakistan unrest which mentioned the project in passing. Could you link me to what he had to say about it? I don't mind if it's video or written.

[La Comédie Noire]

http://www.cnn.com/2010/WORLD/asiapcf/08/15/us.afghanistan.petraeus/index.html?hpt=T2

General Patraeus saying the army should stay in Afghanistan in so many words.

[RadioRaheem84]

Is there any truth to the Caspian Sea Oil Pipeline story? That just seems like 9/11 truth stuff. It was in Michael Moore's Fahrenheit 9/11, but I just never saw much evidence for it.

[Red Commissar]

Is there any truth to the Caspian Sea Oil Pipeline story? That just seems like 9/11 truth stuff. It was in Michael Moore's Fahrenheit 9/11, but I just never saw much evidence for it.

Well there's the Trans-Afghanistan Pipeline I mentioned earlier, and that is not really a conspiracy but an acknowledged fact.

[Magón]

1.8 billion barrels of oil, is hardly something to get excited about. At least in the Oil Industry, who looks for much large caches and fields. 1.8 Billion could easily be sucked up in little more than a year or less, and that's just being a little conservative on the matter. It'd especially be all sucked up and dry, if it was able to go not only to the US, but say the UK, and the EU. That find wouldn't be very helpful, and be sucked up soon enough.

What the most profitable substances in Afghanistan are, that is legal, is rare metals and such. They're a lot probable to be taken and exploited than the oil there.

[Red Commissar]

What the most profitable substances in Afghanistan are, that is legal, is rare metals and such. They're a lot probable to be taken and exploited than the oil there.

That and like its old position in the Silk Road, it is a link between Central Asia and South Asia, and more importantly to the ports.