The Ghazanfar Group is resuming operations, after closing for four months over accusations the company lacked enough capacity to refine oil properly.
In a Dec. 18 decision, the Council of Ministers allowed the Ghazanfar Group to resume its operation, following accusations from the Association of Oil Importers (AOI) that led the Afghan government to ban its operation.
The AOI has strongly protested the re-opening of the refinery.
"We the investors will remain alongside our people and government and we demand further support from the government," said Abrahim Ghazanfar, chairman of the Ghazanfar Group.
Atta Mohammad Noor, the governor of northern Balkh province, said the refinery's activities are beneficial for the national economy.
"We are happy that Afghanistan is moving toward toward self-sufficiency in energy. We need to invest billions of dollars to avoid dependency on others and to get rid of low quality fuel materials of others," Noor said.
Though the oil importers association criticized the decision taken by the Council of Ministers, the Afghan Deputy Minister of Commerce and Industries (MoCI), Muzamil Shinwari, has declared the activities of the refinery to be standard.
"When we process and produce something inside Afghanistan, we are creating direct and indirect jobs and it also facilitates people to purchase oil in low prices," he said.
The AOI has warned it will go on protest if the CM does not review its decision and that importers would transfer their capitals abroad.
A recent decision by the Council of Ministers to permit Ghazanfar Group to import semi-refined crude oil has been met with opposition from the AOI.
AOI warned that a work strike would be launched and most oil importers would have to halt investment in Afghanistan if the CM does not review its decision.
The Council's decision in favor of Ghazanfar was called unfair. AOI claimed that Ghazanfar's refinement operations were never properly investigated by a competent delegation before the Council handed down their decision.
AOI members continued onslaughts against Ghazanfar and the importing of semi-refined oil, called "premagon," which is suspected of being dangerous for human health and the environment.
"Importing premagon into the market harms health of people and pollute the air," a member of the AOI, Azraksh Hafezi told TOLOnews.
Back in August, the AOI and other oil market stakeholders launched accusations against Ghazanfar claiming they were adulterating their imported semi-crude oil by treating it with stabilisers, all under the pretext of refinement, which then allowed the company to charge prices that undercut the market.
They claimed Ghazanfar lacked the capability to refine the semi-crude oil, so a government delegation was eventually sent to the company's northern refinery. However, nothing has since come of the investigation.
According to the CM, Ghazanfar Group is legally allowed to import 500,000 tons of semi-refined oil per year.