Fact Sheet 2006-3031

March 2006

U.S. Department of the Interior

U.S. Geological Survey

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Introduction

The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) cooperated with the 

Afghanistan Ministry of Mines and Industry to assess the undiscovered petroleum resources of Afghanistan. Funding for this 

effort was provided by the U.S. Trade and Development Agency.

The assessment is based on the geologic elements of a 

total petroleum system, which include (1) source-rock presence, 

maturation, petroleum generation, and migration; (2) distribution 

and quality of reservoir rocks; and (3) character of traps and time 

of formation with respect to petroleum migration. Data from 

detailed studies of geochemistry, petroleum geology, geophysics, 

and tectonics combined with historical exploration and production 

analyses were used to aid in the estimation of the number and 

sizes of undiscovered petroleum accumulations.

Much of the petroleum resource potential of Afghanistan 

and all of the known crude oil and natural gas reserves are in 

northern Afghanistan, located in parts of two petroliferous 

geologic basins—the Amu Darya Basin to the west and the 

Afghan-Tajik Basin to the east (fig. 1). The two basins encompass 

approximately 515,000 square kilometers (200,000 square 

miles) in those portions that lie within Afghanistan. Although 

considerable exploration has previously occurred, both the 

Amu Darya and Afghan-Tajik Basins of northern Afghanistan 

are shown in this study to have potential for additional crude 

oil and natural gas discoveries. The area with the greatest potential 

for undiscovered natural gas accumulations is in Upper Jurassic 

carbonate and reef reservoirs beneath an impermeable salt 

layer in relatively unexplored parts of northern Afghanistan. 

The area with the greatest potential for undiscovered crude 

oil accumulations is in Cretaceous to Paleogene carbonate 

reservoir rocks associated with thrust faulting and folding in 

the Afghan-Tajik Basin of northeastern Afghanistan. Four total 

petroleum systems are identified, and these were subdivided 

into eight assessment units for the purpose of resource assessment (table 1).

Resource Summary

The U.S. Geological Survey–Afghanistan Ministry of Mines 

and Industry Joint Oil and Gas Resource Assessment Team assessed 

undiscovered conventional, technically recoverable petroleum 

(discovered reserves not included), resulting in the estimated mean 

volumes of a probability distribution of 1,596 million barrels or 219 

million metric tons of crude oil, 15,687 billion cubic feet or 444 

billion cubic meters of natural gas, and 562 million barrels or 77 

million metric tons of natural gas liquids (table 1). The greatest 

volume of undiscovered crude oil is estimated to be in the Afghanistan 

Eastern Suprasalt Thrusts and Folds Assessment Unit (11560202). 

The greatest volume of undiscovered natural gas is estimated to be 

in the Afghanistan Jurassic Evaporite Basin Subsalt Carbonates 

Assessment Unit (11540105).

Assessment of Undiscovered Petroleum Resources of 

Northern Afghanistan, 2006

AFGHANISTAN

Study area

0 50 100 KM

UZBEKISTAN

115601 and 115602

115401

TURKMENISTAN

115402 AFGHANISTAN

Herat

Mazar i Sharif

Qunduz

Sheberghan

Puli Khumri

Amu Darya Basin

Afghan-Tajik Basin

TAJIKISTAN

62° E 64° E 66° E 68° E 70° E

35° N

36° N

37° N

Using a geology-based

assessment methodology, 

the U.S. Geological Survey– 

Afghanistan Ministry of Mines 

and Industry Oil and Gas 

Resource Assessment 

estimated mean volumes of 

undiscovered petroleum in 

northern Afghanistan; the 

resulting estimates are 1,596 

million barrels of crude oil, 

15,687 billion cubic feet of 

natural gas, and 562 million 

barrels of natural gas liquids. 

Most of the undiscovered 

crude oil is in the AfghanTajik Basin, and most of the 

undiscovered natural gas is 

in the Amu Darya Basin.

Figure 1. Satellite image of northern Afghanistan showing locations of the Amu Darya and Afghan-Tajik Basins, 

as well as the Amu Darya Jurassic-Cretaceous Total Petroleum System (115401), Kalaimor-Kaisar Jurassic Total 

Petroleum System (115402), Afghan-Tajik Jurassic Total Petroleum System (115601), and Afghan-Tajik Paleogene 

Total Petroleum System (115602). Some of the total petroleum system boundaries extend west and north beyond 

the view of the image. Image from National Geospatial Intelligence Agency, unclassified, 12 July 2004.
Table 1. Northern Afghanistan assessment results (discovered reserves not included).

Amu Darya Jurassic-Cretaceous TPS (115401)

[MMB, million barrels. BCF, billion cubic feet. Results shown are fully risked estimates. For gas fields, all liquids are included under the natural gas liquids (NGL) category. 

F95 denotes a 95 percent chance of at least the amount tabulated. Other fractiles are defined similarly. Fractiles are additive under the assumption of perfect positive

correlation. TPS, total petroleum system. AU, assessment unit. Gray shading indicates not applicable]

Gas

Oil Afghanistan Kushka Zone AU

(11540201)

Gas

Oil Afghanistan Subsalt Oxfordian

Shelf AU (11560101)

Afghan-Tajik Paleogene TPS (115602)

Gas

Oil Afghanistan Western Suprasalt

Gentle Folds AU (11560201)

AMU DARYA BASIN PROVINCE (1154)

Afghan-Tajik Jurassic TPS (115601)

AFGHAN-TAJIK BASIN PROVINCE (1156)

Kalaimor-Kaisar Jurassic TPS (115402)

Total Undiscovered Resources Total Petroleum Systems 

(TPS) 

and Assessment Units (AU)

Field

Type

Oil (MMB) Gas (BCF) NGL (MMB)

0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

Gas

Afghanistan Jurassic Evaporite Oil

Basin Subsalt Carbonates AU

(11540105)

0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

1,651 4,925 11,226 5,474 41 128 315 146

Gas

Afghanistan Jurassic Evaporite Oil

Basin Suprasalt Anticlines AU

(11540106)

0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

0 30 1,330 324 0 0 22 5

Gas

Oil Afghanistan Jurassic Evaporite

Basin Margin AU (11540107)

23 67 141 73 21 66 150 73 1 4 9 4

299 1,123 2,595 71,246 29 72 33

135 398 869 436 2 6 15 7

Total undiscovered petroleum

resources, Amu Darya Basin 23 67 141 73 2,106 6,542 16,170 7,553 51 167 433 195

0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

0 1,037 3,470 1,249 15 0 54 19

Gas

Oil Afghanistan Subsalt Basinal

Facies AU (11560102)

0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

0 0 3,006 778 0 0 47 12

89 470 1,803 637 308

83

1,630

260

6,370

760

2,234

319

17

2

96

5

385

16

134

7

Gas

Oil Afghanistan Eastern Suprasalt

Thrusts and Folds AU (11560202)

279 848 1,615 886 954

130

2,938

415

5,781

905

3,098

456

53

3

170

8

370

20

186

9

Total undiscovered petroleum

resources, Afghan-Tajik Basin 368 1,318 3,418 1,523 1,475 6,280 20,292 8,134 75 294 892 367

Total undiscovered petroleum

resources, N. Afghanistan 391 1,385 3,559 1,596 3,581 12,822 36,462 15,687 126 461 1,325 562

U.S. Geological Survey–Afghanistan Ministry of 

Mines and Industry Joint Oil and Gas Resource 

Assessment Team

T.R. Klett1(Team Leader; tklett@usgs.gov), Gregory F.

Ulmishek,1 C.J. Wandrey1

(Project Chief), Warren F. Agena,1

David J. Taylor,1 Ronald Hill,1 Michael Pribil,1 J. David King,1

Mark J. Pawlewicz,1 Charles E. Barker,1 Thomas S. Ahlbrandt,1

Ronald R. Charpentier,1 Richard M. Pollastro,1Christopher J. 

Schenk1

1

 U.S. Geological Survey, Box 25046, Denver Federal Center, MS 939, 

Denver, CO 80225 U.S.A.

Further Information

Supporting geologic studies of total petroleum systems 

and assessment units, and reports on the methodology used in 

the North Afghanistan petroleum resource assessment, are in 

progress. Assessment results are available at the USGS Central 

Energy Team website: http://energy.cr.usgs.gov/oilgas.