Mammoth oil reserves have been discovered in Afghanistan.

Scientists Find Big Afghan Oil Resources

By JOHN HEILPRIN Associated Press Writer

March 14,2006 | WASHINGTON -- Two geological basins in northern Afghanistan hold 18 times the oil and triple the natural gas resources previously thought, scientists said Tuesday as part of a U.S. assessment aimed at enticing energy development in the war-torn country.

Nearly 1.6 billion barrels of oil, mostly in the Afghan-Tajik Basin, and about 15.7 trillion cubic feet of natural gas, mainly in the Amu Darya Basin, could be tapped, said the U.S. Geological Survey and Afghanistan's Ministry of Mines and Industry.

Afghan President Hamid Karzai described the estimates as "very positive findings," particularly since the country now imports most of its energy, including electricity.

"Knowing more about our country's petroleum resources will enable us to take steps to develop our energy potential, which is crucial for our country's growth," said Karzai, whose government was created after the U.S.-led invasion in 2001 and later won national elections.

more at:
http://www.salon.com/wire/ap/archive.html?wire=D8GBK7LGH.html

reconstruction $ went? I know it's pretty snarky of me but it just makes me wonder... :shrug:

We recently drove out their government that was hostile to us and set up a loyal puppet who came from an oil company. What are the odds?

So I guess the Oilcrats in Washington had too many zeros in their original estimate when we went to war, and now are trying to put a smiley face on the cost. Let's see who steps up to the plate to drill with all the warlords there.

Maybe they can run private armies in to crush the revolution.:rofl:

~80 million/day
~30 billion/year

and why bring it up now?

By ranking, if this were discovered in the United States, it would rank as the 12th-largest field, assuming that the 1.6 billion figure is correct - just ahead of the Elk Hills (CA) field at 1.5 billion barrels and the Panhandle (TX) field at 1.4 billion. It would be, in fact, just over 10% of the estimated ultimate recoverable of Prudhoe Bay (13 billion) the largest US field.

It wouldn't even make a listing of the world's top 21 fields. It amounts to 1.9% of Ghawar (SA), 2.2% of Burgan (Kuwait) and 4.6% of Cantarell (Mexico). It's also worth noting that of the world's top three fields, Burgan and Cantarell are already in decline.

And how eager are western oil companies to rush into Afghanistan? We'll see, won't we?

http://www.gravmag.com/oil.html

Think we'll even hear about it? Like the one in Alaska?

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/03/15/national/15spill.html?_r=1&8hpib&oref=slogin

Large Oil Spill in Alaska Went Undetected for Days

WASHINGTON, March 14 — The largest oil spill to occur on the tundra of Alaska's North Slope has deposited up to 267,000 gallons of thick crude oil over two acres in the sprawling Prudhoe Bay production facilities, forcing cleanup crews to work in temperatures far below zero to vacuum and dig up the thick mixture of snow and oil.

The spill went undetected for as long as five days before an oilfield worker detected the acrid scent of hydrocarbons while driving through the area on March 2, Maureen Johnson, the senior vice president and manager of the Prudhoe Bay unit for BP, said at a news conference in Anchorage on Tuesday.

At the conference, officials from BP, the company pumping the oil, and from the Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation said they believed that the oil had escaped through a pinprick-size hole in a corroded 34-inch pipe leading to the Trans-Alaska Pipeline System.

The pressure of the leaking oil, they said, gradually expanded the hole to a quarter- or half-inch wide. Most of the oil seeped beneath the snow without attracting the attention of workers monitoring alarm systems.

har de har har har

Tusk, tusk. Making bad puns like that so early in the morning.

;)

..

From the BBC Monday, 29 October, 2001:

Some attractively original theories have been going the rounds about the real reasons for the Afghan war.

It is obviously much more, some columnists and political theorists suggest, than a simple effort to stamp out terrorism.

Apart from the popular theory (in some parts of Europe as well as the Middle East) that this is a war on Islam, there is also the theory that it is a war motivated mainly - or even purely - by long-term economic and political goals.

The importance of Central Asian oil and gas has suddenly been noticed.

<snip>

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/1626889.stm

and we are back to June 2001..full circle