A small British company is vying to become the first western group to drill for oil in Afghanistan.
Tethys Petroleum is one of five firms, including China’s state-owned CNPC and Shazhad International of Pakistan to qualify for the first auction of exploration rights. The other two are Buccaneer Energy, an Australian company, and Schlumberger, the American oil services firm.
Final bids are due today. The Ministry of Mines will name the winners later this month. The US Geological Survey estimates northern Afghanistan holds up to 1.8 billion barrels of oil.
Tethys is listed in Canada, but has its HQ in London. The £180m company’s other operations are in Tajikistan, Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan.