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Current Events » in reply to Oil in Afghanistan?

Getting it out is the problem.
podrock — (archived)

Or should I say getting it out at a profit.

In Cryptonomicon, Stepenson tells a story about a pile of gold bars in the middle of the Philippine jungle that illustrates the problem. The protagonists are shown this pile of gold after passing through several different principalities, each with a check point with a squad of guards that need bribing. They realize that there is no way to get the gold out without losing most of it to the authorities - both local and national. In the end, they'll lose money on the venture, possibly their lives. So they walk away.

A client of mine has operations in China, and the stories I hear from there are amazing. Every permit requires a bribe. Every bribe requires the right person to offer the bribe, someone known, with connections. I can only imagine that Afghanistan is worse. I don't think the Taliban will be fond of mining or drilling, no matter how big the bribe.

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