Iran Offers to Help Boost Oil Refining Sector in Northern Afghanistan

During a visit to an oil refinery at the Hairatan Port in Balkh province, the Consul General of Iran said that his country is ready to cooperate with Afghan traders in the oil refining sector.

Sajjad Jafari, Deputy Consul and Economic Attaché at the Iranian Consulate in Balkh, said: “We are now in contact with our friends who are active in the oil, gas, and refinery sectors in Iran, so they can come here and assess the capacities up close. God willing, we will work together to expand and develop oil refining facilities in northern Afghanistan.”

Haroon Rashid Qazi, Deputy of the Balkh Chamber of Commerce and Investment, said: “We requested cooperation and support from our friend and neighboring country, Iran. They came, visited in person, and soon a delegation will travel to Iran and another will come to Afghanistan to arrange the necessary machinery for upgrading the refineries.”

Officials from oil refineries in Balkh say that the active facilities in the province have the capacity to process crude oil from the Amu River and request that this domestic resource be allocated to them.

Abdul Jamil Zazai, head of oil refineries in Balkh, said: “The crude oil extraction capacity in Qashqari and Angot is around 700 tons per day, but Afghanistan’s need for refined petrol and diesel may be close to two million tons.”

Trader Ahmad Javid Adalat said: “We request support and ask that Afghanistan’s crude oil be given to domestic refineries. If we are given the opportunity, we can align our production with the standards of the Islamic Emirate in a short time.”

Meanwhile, officials from the Balkh Department of Industry and Commerce confirmed that supporting oil refineries is a key priority for them and pledged continued cooperation.

Nasir Ahmad Niazi, Deputy Director of the Department, said: “Under the national economic policy, supporting domestic refineries is one of the Islamic Emirate’s top priorities. This support will help expand the industrial sector, create jobs, and promote energy self-sufficiency.”

Previously, the Ministry of Mines and Petroleum had announced that a shipment of 18,000 tons of crude oil from the Amu River, worth 700 million Afghanis, had been awarded to a company for refining.