OilVoice - First Afghan Hydrocarbon Bidding Round 2009

First Afghan Hydrocarbon Bidding Round 2009

Tuesday, April 28, 2009

On 17 March 2009, the Ministry of Mines, on behalf of the Government of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, launched the First Afghan Hydrocarbon Bidding Round 2009 to initiate hydrocarbon exploration in Northern Afghanistan.

Northern Afghanistan has been divided into 11 blocks, of which three were offered in this licensing round. The three blocks are Jangalikalan, Juma-Bashikurd and Kashkari; all of which have known hydrocarbon-bearing accumulations. Most of the fields in these blocks were discovered by the Soviets in the 1970s excluding the Angoat oil field, which was discovered in 1959. Except for the Angoat and Kashkari fields, the rest of the fields in the blocks on offer (Jangalikalan, Juma and Bashikurd gas fields and Aqdarya oil field) have yet to commence production. The Angoat field is the only oil field currently on production, though the Kashkari field produced briefly in the 1980s.

Roadshows for the bidding round will be held in Kabul, followed by Dubai (26 April), London (28 April), Calgary (5 May), Houston (7 May) and Singapore (15 May). A data package for the blocks will be available from 16 May 2009.

Companies are required to submit an Expression of Interest (EOI) to pre-qualify to participate in the bidding round, by 15 June 2009. Besides being eligible and qualified as per Articles 30 and 31 of the Hydrocarbons Law, bidders are required to have a market capitalization of at least USD 100 million for Kashkari block, USD 150 million for Juma-Bashikurd, Jangalikalan blocks and USD 200 million for all three blocks. Additionally, applicants must have experience in production of sour gas in order to bid for the Juma-Bashikurd and Jangalikalan blocks. Successful pre-qualification applicants will be announced on 1 July 2009.

Pre-qualified bidders have to submit their bids by 15 September 2009. The result of the bidding round is expected to be announced by 5 October 2009 with the Exploration and Production Sharing Contracts (EPSC) signed no later than 5 December 2009. Details of the round are available from the Ministry of Mines or the First Afghan Hydrocarbon Bidding Round website.