The Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (IEA, the self-designation of the country by the Taliban❶) has signed a contract with a company from Uzbekistan for the exploration and production of natural gas at the Tuti-Maidan block in the Afghan provinces of Jowzjan and Faryab in northern Afghanistan. It is reported by Ariana News.
The ten-year contract includes an investment of about $1 billion. The document was signed in the presence of IEA Deputy Prime Minister for Economic Affairs Abdul Ghani Baradar Akhund and Special Representative of the President of Uzbekistan Ismatulla Irgashev.
By agreement, the company from Uzbekistan will invest $100 million in the first year and the remaining $900 million over the next nine years. In the first two years, the extracted gas will be used to generate 100 megawatts of gas-based electricity.
The gas reserves of the Toti-Maidan field in the province of Jauzjan cover an area of about 7,000 square kilometers. Gas production will largely meet the country's gas needs and create both direct and indirect employment opportunities for thousands of Afghans.
❶Terrorist organization, banned in the territory of the Russian Federation