Uzbekistan is considering the issue of resuming geological exploration of oil and gas in Afghanistan, RIA announced on February 26, 2018, with reference to a representative of the Ministry of Foreign Trade of Uzbekistan.
The issue was discussed during the talks with special representative of President of Afghanistan on cooperation with the CIS countries Shakir Kargar in the Ministry last week.
According to the reports, the sides also exchanged views on acceleration of implementation of the strategically important infrastructure projects, including construction of the Mazari-Sharif - Gerat railroad and the Surkhan-Puli-Khumri power transmission line.
Chairman of Uzbekneftegaz national holding company Alisher Sultanov earlier reported that the company will study possibility of participating in construction of the Turkmenistan - Afghanistan - Pakistan - India (TAPI) gas pipeline.
In 2016, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) in cooperation with the Afghanistan Geological Survey (AGS) estimated the reserves of oil and gas in the northern districts of Afghanistan at 1.6 billion barrels of oil, 450 billion cubic meters of natural gas.
