It has been stated that "the Contractor shall submit a financial guarantee for an amount equal to the estimated expenditures associated with the Work Programme of the Initial Exploration Period" in the Article 5.5 of the EPSC. And we were told that for the unknown HC accumulation area if one w…view more

What is the duty rate for crude oil and natural gas exports? And what is the duty rate for goods and equipments imports, which are necessary for Hydrocarbon Operations. Please give some more detailed information related to Customs Duties. …view more

Is the Signiture Bonus recoverable? If in the case of recovery, when and how to recover it? Please clarify it. …view more

According to the item 18 of DOCUMENTATION CHECK LIST FOR BIDDERS, an indication of who in Afghanistan will be the representative in relation to the authorities. Because there isn't a representative from our company who in Afghanistan now, is it necessary to indicate a representative of our company …view more

We still believe the gas sale market would be one of the restraining factors for the development of gas field after the approval of the Development Plan due to the absence of gas transmission and using network. According to the item 3.4, 3.5, 7.1 of the EPSC, in the event that Initial Commercial…view more

We understand your clarification about the Letter of Credit last time according to the item 3.8.7 of the Terms of Reference. However, we are still not sure what, other than modification and withdrawal, will result in forfeiture of the Bid Bond. We may feel more confident if you can point out in Term…view more

If the Initial Commercial Production has not occurred because of nothing but the absence of gas transmission and using network against willingness of the contractor on producing, could the contract negotiations on new additional period as such be permitted. Could the contractor adds the assumption o…view more

According to the Terms of Reference, we assume that if all documents pertaining to DOCUMENTATION OF BIDDERS are drafted in English, an Executive Summary of maximum five pages on the contents therein must be submitted in one of the official languages of Afghanistan together with such documents. Would…view more

Shall the Contractor be entitled to recover the Bonus payable before the signiture of EPSC? If in the case of recovery, when and how to recover it? Shall be depreciated or not? …view more

We understand that capital expenditures shall be recovered immediately and need't be depreciated. Is that correct? …view more

What's the custom duty rate for imports of equipment, materials and supplies which are necessary for hydrocarbon operations? Shall the contractor be entitled to exempt custom duties related to hydrocarbon operations? …view more

Are the training fees and surface rental fees recoverable? If not, are these costs deductible from contractor's taxable income? …view more

There is a gas discovery well named the Khosdah Budanskar 1 well located close to the north boundary of the Kashkari block. Can we arrange the wells in the Kashkari block without considering the boundary of the Khosdah Budanskar gas field. If we need to consider about that, how could we define the b…view more

We are still worried about the demining. We were told that "The Contractor may decide to conduct an independent assessment of the de-mining/war remnants status of the areas inside each offered block at the beginning of the contract period", and "De-mining and security costs are recoverable". Wou…view more

We were informed that each bidder shall present a Bid Bond amounting to USD 3 Million to the Ministry of Mines (MOF) for each block. And we assume that the Letter of Credit of the bidders who fail to be awarded the tender would become nullified at the same time of the Announcement of Bidding Resul…view more

Because the known accumulations have not been defined directly, could we believe the known accumulations are only the 3 gas fields(Jangalikalan gas field, Juma gas field and Bashikurd gas field) and 3 oil fields(Kashkari oil field, Angoat oil field and Aqdarya oil field) but nothing else. How can I …view more

Shall the construction costs of gas or oil pipeline which is beyond the Delivery Point be recovered? …view more

We were told that the final bid document package would be published at 3 August 2009, but we haven't found it on the website of www.afghanistanpetroleum.com. …view more

Is it true that all the wells drilled in the known accumulations would not be taken as the Additional Work Programme? …view more

According the Template of the Letter of Credit, the date for the MOF to return the Bid Bond to the respective bidder is subsequent to the signature of the EPSC. So we assume that the Letter of Credit of the bidders would never become invalid if no bidder could sign the EPSC. …view more

We are still confused about the Development and Production Phase and the Additional Work Programme of the known accumulations. We were told that "The term of the Development and Production Phase for each Field shall extend for maximum twenty-five (25) years as from the date the discovery was made.…view more

The Letter of Credit is independent of the EPSC. According the Template of the Letter of Credit, we assume that the said amount should be paid to the MOF with not detail clarification but only a simply statement that the amount claimed is duly payable due to the non-compliance of the Bidder of its o…view more

We need crude oil components (paraffin, salt content etc.) and natural gas specifications (C1, C2 etc). …view more

What is the definition of commencement of Hydrocarbon Operations?…view more

Under the Model EPSC Article 12.5 the Contractor shall provide certain storage facilities for the Government. Does the capex for providing excess storage constitute Hydrocarbon Operations Expenditures?…view more

Do you provide us an indigenous gas and/or electricity demand projection (prices) in the welayat of Jowzjan? …view more

As a part of the Development Plan the Contractor is required to submit an environmental impact assessment which shall include socio-economic conditions and an environment management plan et cetera (Model EPSC Article 7.1 (h) (ii)). Are there any caps on related costs?…view more

Is the PSC contractor responsible for cleaning up existing environmental damage? If so, will these costs be recoverable under the PSC? …view more

Who buys urea and price? …view more

Will costs expended on facilities such as a topping plant to produce diesel fuel inside the Contract Area (which is part of a development plan) be recoverable under the EPSC?…view more

Can the MoM provide a draft of Exhibit H (Security Agreement) for discussion purposes? When will the remaining exhibits to the EPSC be released?…view more

Do work units apply to exploration only? What is the definition of work unit?…view more

How long does it take to register a company in Afghanistan?…view more

Will Force Majeure periods be granted in the event of hostilities affecting the ability of operators to safely conduct field activities? …view more

Is it possible to get a list of data in the data facility in Shebergan? …view more

We need some workover reports or information about recently condition or processes of the wells of Jar Koduk, Yatim Tag. …view more

What is the sulfur or H2S content of gas and oil? …view more

What is the rationale behind Model EPSC Article 11.8 last sentence?…view more

What measurements are taken by the GoA to ensure downstream facilities and a functioning domestic market for gas? …view more

How can we identify quadrants?…view more

What is the current official gas price for the Afghan Gas Organization (for fertilizer plant, for residential and commercial consumers) and Sheberghan Power Plant? What is the latest position of main gas buyer: Khod-i-Bark (av. 360,000 m3/day buying)?…view more

Are there different exchange rates?…view more

How do we know the production figures from the Kashkari field? …view more

Would the Government of Afghanistan consider including a provision on economic stability clause in the EPSC?…view more

Can you rank the marketing options? …view more

What are the oil and gas formation volume factors? …view more

Is it possible for a bidder to visit the field area(s) independently before the bid closing date? …view more

Will a PSA operator be allowed to produce diesel fuel and sell to foreign armed forces (like NATO or US forces) operating in country? …view more

It is not necessary to invest in the downstream? If we want to invest in downstream, can we expect any preferential treatment as a result?…view more

There are uncertainties of the location of Juma Bashikurd wells on the maps? …view more

Is income tax a part of the R-factor calculation?…view more

Is there a local market price for gas? Can the GoA give any assurance of the gas price? …view more

In the bidding parameters, there does not seem to be any credit given to operators who are willing to invest in social projects for the inhabitants of the area of oil and gas operations. Does this mean the GoA is not interested in such programs? Does GoA have in mind a sharing of Government “take” w…view more

What is the condition of the wells?…view more

When was the hydrocarbon law published in the official gazette? …view more

Can we consider construction of pipelines as additional work commitment?…view more

How is the availability of adequate insurance in Afghanistan?…view more

The rules in the Income Tax Law are very general. Can you provide a more specific overview on applicable taxes? Are there any taxes, for instance stamp duties, applicable to payment of invoices from abroad? Are there any withholding taxes for taking profits outside of Afghanistan?…view more

What is the salinity of produced oil? If not known, could you please compare with existing fields close to oil fields? …view more

Would you please interpret the “Additional Work Commitment” in the Terms of Reference more clearly? Specifically, a general work scope of the term “Additional Work Commitment” will be really appreciated. We know the exploration/development workloads themselves are included in the “Additional Work Co…view more

In order to clarify gas prices and guarantee itself against any loss, does the Contractor have a right to sign Sales agreement with Government before submitting performance guarantee?…view more

Is this bidding round limited to EPSC (first type contract) only and therefore does it not contemplate awarding the right to upgrade and rehabilitate existing oil and gas fields and facilities (SPSC – second type contract)? …view more

Are training Expenditures recoverable costs?…view more

Coordinates of the wells? …view more

Is the Angot field depleted? …view more

The gas sale market would become one of the restraining factors for the development of gas field after the approval of the Development Plan due to the absence of gas transmission and using network. Could the government fully fund or sponsor/share the infrastructure construction of gas transmission a…view more

What are the rules for "ring-fencing" Blocks, fields and step-out discoveries for tax and PSC purposes? …view more

What is the amount of produced water in all oil fields? If not known, could you please compare with existing fields close to oil fields? …view more

According to the Model EPSC, venue of the arbitration is ICSID. But at the same time Hydrocarbon Law Article 70.3 indicates that if the Contractor don't prefer ICSID, UNCITRAL is the other option for dispute resolution. I wonder if you are kind enough to explain in case of any dispute, which one is…view more

What is the definition of additional work programme? …view more

How can the Contractor secure its throughput commitments in cases where the Contractor is obliged to provide hydrocarbons to the State in order to meet the internal consumption requirements of the State in accordance to Model EPSC Article 12.9?…view more

Can we consider the security costs as a Work Unit? …view more

What parts of the EPSC are negotiable?…view more

If only one bidder makes a bid on a Block, can the contract be awarded to that bidder?…view more

Is the financial guarantee meant to cover all costs, including appraisal costs, or only exploration costs expressed in work units?…view more

How would Ministry of Mines’ officials be “directly engaged” in the Hydrocarbon Operations?…view more

Do “Company A” have to register itself before the bidding process or after signature of Contract after bidding? …view more

What is the current reservoir pressure in the Angot field? …view more

What is the reason for termination of USAID project? …view more

Are the lands containing the offered Blocks state-owned or privately owned? If State owned, are these lands informally and traditionally occupied by interested parties? Who controls access to the Blocks – both formally and informally?…view more

What is the timeline for a Sheberghan gas-fired power plant?…view more

It seems that current gas distribution network is in poor condition. Is there any significant progress regarding with the renovation of existing pipeline between Shebergan and Mazar-e-Sharif and New Shebergan distribution Network, and construction of 100 MW Shebergan power plant? What is the status …view more

Is the data package for The First Afghan Hydrocarbon Bidding Round available to oil and gas companies that have not been pre-qualified to bid in this round? …view more

According to the Model EPSC, the Government shall be responsible for ensuring security outside the Contract Area. However, if the Contractor incurs own costs for the provision of security outside the Contract Area, will the Contractor be able to recover the costs so expended? …view more

Is there any “informal” production of oil and gas by local inhabitants or locals? Will PSC contractors be expected to continue providing this form of local benefit? Is there a “black market” in gas or crude oil operating at this time? Is so, who is responsible for halting the activity and replacing …view more

Who are the Owners or Operators of existing refinery, fertilizer plant and Sheberghan Power Plant? Who is the operator/authorized body for the section of the pipelines in the country?…view more

Will the Afghan Army or will the Afghan Police provide security services for field operations? If neither, will operators be allowed to employ their own armed security consultants? …view more

What is the capacity of pipeline to urea plant? …view more

What is the present capacity of local refinery located close to Angot field? How the required throughput is fulfilled? Would you be so kind to inform us about current refinery feedstock specifications, particularly in terms of specific gravity range and sulfur content of crude which will be deemed a…view more

Have the areas inside each offered Block been thoroughly de-mined? If not, will professional demining and other security related costs be allowed as a cost recovery item? …view more

What is the condition of pipeline to Russia? …view more

We are not sure that could the "Additional Work Commitments" pursuant to the Contractor's bid be conducted not only during the “Initial Exploration Period” but also the "successive extension periods" (“First Extension Period” and “Second Extension Period”). Should the "Additional Work Commitme…view more

For the unknown HC accumulation area if one well cost more than 10 million Dollar (1000 WU), is it going to be calculated as 1000 WU or could it be such as 1200 WU (well cost:12 million USD)?…view more

For the Kashkari block minimum work commitment for the for each known HC areas (Kashkari, Angut, AkDarya) should we drill 1 well (or 3 Work over )/field or 1 well(or 3 Work over ) / block ?…view more

If we haven't got any discovery after the "Minimum Work Commitments" being finished during the “Initial Exploration Period”, could…view more

For the seismic acquisition; if the any lines of the 2D acquisation program which will be in unknown HC accumulation area, pass over the known hydrocarbon accumulation area, will it be included WU of the committment.…view more

Will Afghan side allow enough time to winning company negotiate with possible joint ventures or JV should be formed before the bidding process and register the operating company? …view more

Is 2000 WU Work Commitment for both Jangalikalan and Bashikurd or do we have to submit commitments respectively?…view more

Is there any flare limit for gas fields?…view more

How will the average of royalty for oil and gas blocks be calculated? (Weighted or simple average) …view more

We assume that developing the fields separately or together is Contractor’s decision based on the technical and economical facts. That is, Contractor may design and construct temporary or permanent, separate or shared surface facilities to develop the fields or may decide to relinquish any of field …view more

Do ADB fully cover the financing of the TAPI pipeline? Are there any further developments in the project? …view more

We assume that usage of oil and/or gas either domestically or for export are possible. What will be the basis of pricing the products if Afghan Government dictates local use of gas or oil, as a whole or partially, for any reason (Dated Brent plus-minus X $/b, Natural Gas spot price XXXX hub plus-m…view more

Are the security related costs during the transportation and installation of the machinery regarding workover, seismic acquisition etc. considered as Work Unit and will such costs be subject to Cost Recovery?…view more

Does 2000 WU Work Commitment which will be submitted for the first 4 year Exploration Period include 1 Apprasial well and 3 workover wells for development? …view more

Is it necessary for the Contractor to sell all the produced gas only in Afghanistan? Could the Contractor export gas outside Afghanistan? And how about the oil?…view more

We were told that the Work Programme is a physical obligation measured in Work Units (WU), and 1 well = 1,000 WU. But the well has not been defined as exploration well or development well, is it same or is there any difference? …view more

Could the known accumulations of the oilfields and the gasfields in the blocks directly go into the development and production phase without drilling exploration wells near the fields since these discoveries have already been made. …view more

We notice that there aren't the reports of Kash Kari oilfield and the Jangali Kolon gasfield in the data packages. Would you please send us the reports of the above fields by email/FTP or other ways if you can find them somewhere else? …view more

What is the Datum (ED50 or WGS84), Latitude or Longitude of the seismic data?…view more

If Company A decides to team up with Company B to jointly evaluate and submit in the Bidding Round, then should Company A and Company B together pay the USD 25,000 as the Bidding Fee .....OR should both Company A and Company pay USD 25,000 individually the Bidding Fee to participate in the Bidding R…view more

During the bidding process, of course there can be only ONE COMPANY to enter the bidding process, however at this stage we are forming a consortium to meet all of the requirements to display to the Ministry of Mines the reputability, technical and financial strengths of all parties that meet all the…view more

Our company is not a public company and it is hard for us to prepare the financial qualification by market capitalization. Could we provide the information on the net assets instead of the market capitalization because the financial qualification of our company by net assets has met the requirement …view more

a. In order to pre-qualify we need to have a legal re-presentative in Afghanistan, as I would interpret reading the articles 30 & 31 of the Hydrocarbon Law. If this was the case would you be able to advice how to do it within the time frame, i.e. before 15 June. b. Could you please clarify the f…view more

1) Expression of Interest : In this letter do we need to specify the field(s) or do we need only express our intention to be involved and to be participated into this bidding process? 2) One of the requirements is to have 1000 boe production; a. Is it compulsory to have this amount and what if we…view more

Has the Law been published in the Gazette?…view more

We recommend to seek clarifications on whether at the pre-qualification stage we need (1) a business licence; and (2) a permanent office or agent in Afghanistan.…view more

I have several questions regarding the 2009 Afghan bidding round as follows: 1) According to the Terms of Reference, if all documents pertaining to pre-qualification are drafted in English, an Executive Summary of maximum five pages on the contents therein must be submitted in one of the officia…view more

Tax question 1: “As I understand it, a QEIT may not only recover all their costs through cost-oil, they can also depreciate all capex (save expenses related to renting or purchasing a building) over a period of 5 or 15 years. The determination of what expenses are subject to the 5-year SL and the…view more

Are the co-ordinates for the three blocks available, and any of the wells or fields?…view more

Sirs, Following attendance at the very informative London road show event we would like to take the opportunity to congratulate the Ministry of Mines for an excellently documented and organised bid round. With regard to the bid procedure, we would kindly like to inquire (1) whether the Ministry i…view more

As part of 2009 Afghanistan Oil and Gas round, we would be pleased to have access at the data package at earliest and before the bidding round pre qualification. Could you please indicate us the procedure for: - data package / bidding fee payment - Data package retrieval: would it be a FTP …view more