| CHINA AMO DARYA OIL DEAL |
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| Source: |
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By: |
Said Issaq said Certified Cost Engineer |
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Afghanistan Constitution Article 9;
Mines, underground resources are properties of the state. Protection, Use, management and mode of utilization of the public properties shall be regulated by Law.
Afghan Constitution Article 66;
The President takes into consideration the supreme interests of the people of Afghanistan while enforcing the powers stated in this constitution. The President cannot sell or bestow state properties without the provisions of the law.
It is an established fact that the war in Afghanistan ( $100 Billion) is the biggest expense item the US tax payers shoulder. For many
months a bipartisan group of a dozen representatives; senators and Congress members were negotiating to find means to minimize the national debt of the United States of America. They couldn’t reach an agreement at the end! Certainly, it does not require to revive Steve Jobs to find out what is the major cost item in this most expensive war. Fuel cost in the war in Afghanistan is what should be taken into consideration when talking of reduction in war expenses.
A few weeks ago China and Afghanistan signed a 25 years Amo Darya oil field deal. All things considered, in this contract, Afghan Government has violated Afghanistan Constitution, shown a complete disregard to taking Afghan nation from aid dependency status to that of self reliance and the American Defense Cost Cutting Strategy. Referring to articles 9 and 66, this contract as signed is mismanagement of Afghanistan natural resources, supreme interest of the people of Afghanistan has been ignored in this transaction. This is an obligation of the Parliament of Afghanistan to nullify it.
1,000,000,000 Gallons of fuel is consumed by the US Military per year in Afghanistan. Total oil consumption of US Military in Afghanistan so far can be estimated at about 5 Billion gallons. According to National Public Radio, during 2010 Heating and air conditioning expenses pf the US military in Iraq and Afghanistan was $20,000,000,000. Cost of each KWH of energy generated by oil burning is about 50 cents while the same amount of energy if generated by burning natural gas can be produced at about 5cents, in other words, at 1/10th of the cost of Diesel!
A statement by General Allen, asking troops under his command to conserve energy is attached. As per information published in media USGS estimates Afghanistan hydrocarbon resources worth to be $1,131,500,000,000.
The fuel needs of American forces in Afghanistan are met in three ways;
- Refined oil products are shipped over 1,000 miles by rail and trucks from a Turkmen refinery on the Caspian Sea to American
facilities in Afghanistan.
- Fuel is trucked from four refineries in Pakistan delivered in about a week time.
- About 100,000 gallons jet fuel per day are provided from Uzbekistan.
In addition to these, NATO and Pentagon have a back up plan as well. This plan is a 3,212 miles route extended from Riga in Latvia to Termez in Uzbekistan, is known as Northren Distribution Network (NDN). As can be noticed this route is more than three times in length than that of Pakistan, thus making it very expensive, even up to six times.
COSTS:
As the objective here is to compare the imported fuel delivered to the bases with that of domestically obtained in Afghanistan, major
cost components have got to be analyzed. In October of 2009 Pentagon officials testified before the House Appropriation Defense
Subcommittee that the “ Fully Burdened Cost of Fuel” (FBCF) translates to about $400 per gallon by the time it arrives at a remote
Forward Operating Base (FOB) in Afghanistan ( Oilprice.com).In 2010 this cost reached $800 even $1,000 in some remote locations. Four hundred dollars or a thousand dollars per gallon is not what should be compared to the cost of domestic production of oil. Because it will be comparing apples to oranges. What is logical is the Cost Insurance and Freight ( CIF) of fuel to the major distribution points with that of domestically produced oil. If Chinese pay one dollar per gallon to the Afghanistan Government Per gallon of oil extracted, while the market Price is much more,
THIS IS THE IMPORTANT POINT PROVING THE FACT THAT THIS NATIONAL RESOURCE HAS BEEN GIVEN AT A DISCOUNT PRICE. AS STATED; CONSTITUTION OF AFGHANISTAN HAS BEEN VIOLATED.
There is oil available in Afghanistan and there is a need for it. To meet this challenge an oil refinery is required. When oil refinery is mentioned it comes to mind a massive investment of billions of dollar and many years of construction. But the technology has advanced in the field. What in case of Afghanistan is required is a skid mounted modular off the shelf unit that could be installed in weeks if not in days if implemented on a war footage zero time tolerance schedule. In Iraq Ardil oil refinery built by Ventech is an example.
ATTACHMENT
Posted: 05 Jan 2012 08:50 AM PST
Hat tip to Ollie for this. In a recent one-page memo on energy to all servicemen and servicewomen in theater, General Allen, USFOR-A, not the first and likely not the last Marine general to completely "get" energy, summed it up this way:
"Operational energy equates exactly to operational capability."
Hard to miss his meaning. Supporting points included:
0. "A military force that reduces its fuel consumption becomes more agile and insulates itself from logistics disruptions."
0. "I expect commanders to improve fuel accountability ...."
0. "[Operation energy] is about increasing our forces' endurance, becoming more lethal, and reducing the number of men and women risking their lives moving fuel."
You can read the memo HERE. |
