Conference Programme

The session will future senior members of the Afghanistan Government, who will analyze the sector’s current regulatory environment and its latest reforms, planned government initiatives aimed at improving business climate, will provide outlook of Afghanistan energy industry and will outline their key priorities for the oil and gas sector in the region to an international audience.

• Government policy in Energy Sector of Afghanistan
• Import and Export regulations
• Afghanistan hydrocarbon resources
• Afghanistan Energy Projects – current outlook and future projects

The panel will bring together Big Afghan oil and gas industry players as well as Afghanistan regulatory and executive bodies, who will discuss the attractiveness of the Afghanistan hydrocarbon market for international energy companies and future of the strategic partnership. The session will also debate development of the oil reserves in Afghanistan. They will also analyse the factors that are helping the sector develop today and discuss the effectiveness of the state policies in the energy sector of Afghanistan.

During this special session, Watan Group will present information on prosperous project of building a complex refinery in Afghanistan.
This session will also discuss the main features for development of local refining industry in Afghanistan, depending on:

• Availability of locally produced crude oil
• Location and commercial viability of refineries
• Cost and availability of transport options
• The regulatory regimes applying for locally produced products and their competitiveness with imported products.

An analysis of regional geopolitics and Afghanistan’s relationships with its neighboring countries, and the potential for transnational energy projects/oil pipelines in the medium and long term.

The current session will evaluate the legislative support, taxation and administrative regulation of the energy sector of Afghanistan, will analyze various aspects of current legislation, forming instrumental tools for increasing security for international companies and government resources to support initiatives for investments. It will also overview current banking sector of Afghanistan and prospects of its development.

• Afghanistan Government Policies and Regulations for Investments
• Economic Framework & Taxation
• Trade Finance and Banking Regulations in Afghanistan

The extended session will future senior representatives of international companies and leading specialists working in the energy sector in Afghanistan, who will each present their views on the criteria for establishing the most successful, effective and reliable partnership. What needs to be done for the global Oil & Gas industry to invest in Afghanistan, and what do large-scale investors expect from government or regulatory bodies of Afghanistan and oil and gas companies. Which partnership models have been successful in Afghanistan, and which approaches and principles do companies rely on when choosing partners? What can be done to attract more international financial institutions to invest into energy sector of Afghanistan and finance deals in oil and gas trading? Red tape and bureaucracy facts as the preventing factor for new business startups, government support in securing the foreign investment.

This session will provide outlook of the current transport infrastructure of Afghanisatn – roads, railways, transshipment and storage terminals, will analyse capabilities of the transport companies and will supply up-to-date information on existing measures to ensure safety and security of the freight flows. It will also discuss prospects of further development of the transport infrastructure and network, implementation of new technologies as well as improvement of management, control, safety and security systems:

• Main regional petroleum import and trading hubs in Afghanistan (Kabul, Herat, Mazar-e-Sharif, Kandahar)
• Current transport network and underway projects e-analysis of trucking logistics capabilities of local transport companies
• Development of railway network and its vital role in the economy of Afghanistan
• Terminals Capabilities & Storage Capacities
• Safety & Security of Petroleum transportation in Afghanistan
• Introduction of advance (modern) technologies for the control, coordination, management and improvements of logistics services in Afghanistan

This session will highlight the key sources of petroleum supplies as well as the main transportation routes for their deliveries to Afghanistan. Representatives of international freight forwarding companies and leading analysts will provide the detailed economics and comparative analysis of the key supply routes.
Deliveries from Pakistan – Challenges and advantages and important role of the Northern routes for the petroleum supplies to Afghanistan & Supply Sources:

• Russia
• Turkmenistan
• Kazakhstan
• Uzbekistan
• Azerbaijan / Georgia 12.30 Panel Discussions: Key Sources & Supply Route

The panel will bring together international transport companies and major suppliers of the petroleum products to discuss effectiveness and capabilities of different freight routes, opportunities on improving economics and possibilities for the future increase of the oil product supply volumes.

During this session, traders will discuss the structure of commercial domestic market and trading opportunities in Afghanistan as well as pricing mechanisms and factors affecting its fluctuation. This talk will follow by overview of petroleum products quality requirements in Afghanistan and measures to prevent low quality product imports.

• Oil Product Demand – Overview of the current market:

・Diesel
・Mogas
・Jet Fuel
・LPG

• Forecast of Future Demand Change in Afghanistan
• Overview of Afghanistan Domestic Market Structure:

・Wholesales market
・Retail network

• Factors affecting the formation and fluctuation of petroleum prices in Afghanistan
• Product Quality Control

・Afghanistan national standards for quality of imported petroleum products (Afghanistan National Standard Association)
・Existing quality control system and importance of its development for environmental and consumer right protection