The Ministry of Mines and Petroleum has announced the sale of 60,000 tons of Qashqari crude oil to a domestic company through a tender process, valued at over $30 million.

This quantity of oil was put up for tender by the Ministry, with bids received from 18 domestic companies.

During the tender, Shahabuddin Delawar, acting Minister of Mines and Petroleum, called on domestic and foreign investors to invest in the mining sector for the sake of economic growth and job creation in the country.

During the tender, the acting minister announced plans to increase oil extraction levels to 100,000 tons per month and mentioned efforts to establish an oil refinery in the country.

"Whoever buys 20,000 tons should write their price, and whoever buys 60,000 tons, meaning all of it, should write their price. We will give it to the person whose price is good and beneficial for Afghanistan," he added.

Regarding the establishment of a refinery, Shahabuddin Delawar continued: "We are in negotiations with foreigners to set up a good refinery in the country where diesel, petrol, motor oil, bitumen, and grease can be produced."

At the same time, the officials of the winning company expressed satisfaction with the transparency of the tender process.

Sayed Ghafoor Ahmad Javed, spokesperson of the winning company, said: "Our price ... was the winning bid. The important thing is that this oil will be refined throughout Afghanistan, and there is already a refinery in place."

Shams Rahman Ahmadzai, an economist, told a TOLOnews reporter, "Such contracts should increase under the Islamic Emirate because they can boost the economy and eliminate unemployment."

According to statistics from the Ministry of Mines and Petroleum, since the beginning of the current solar year, contracts for eight small and large mines worth $40 million have been awarded to domestic private companies through tender.