Energy Advisor for Oil & Gas

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Job Summary :

Energy Advisor for Oil & Gas

Job Requirements :

Afghanistan has experienced tumultuous changes and difficulties since August 2021. The conditions that prevailed before the change in political regime were already arduous. The country had suffered for long from prolonged conflict, state fragility, weak institutions, corruption, and widespread poverty. The economy was small and mainly agricultural and oriented to services, but it was very much influenced by the two-decades long presence of external forces and the very large foreign transfers for both security and civilian purposes. Those transfers, which recently amounted to about 40 percent of GDP, played an important role in shaping economic incentives system and structures. Afghanistan also received considerable financial support and policy advice from the international financial and development institutions.

Even before political changes in August 15, poverty was pervasive as the economy was already in difficulty and growth had been on a downward trend for several years. With COVID-19 and a drought, the economy shrank by 2.4 percent in 2020. Inflation also picked up in 2020. The events of August 15 fundamentally changed the politics and economics of Afghanistan. Profound uncertainties set in about the governance and policies of the new regime, especially about the social and economic role of women. The international community in large part cut off political and economic relations with Afghanistan. The large inflow of international financial resources was stopped, causing a sudden stop in foreign exchange inflows. At the same time, Afghanistan’s official foreign exchange reserves were frozen, and strenuous sanctions were implemented, halting external trade and financial transactions.

The international community has responded by providing emergency humanitarian assistance to help address the extreme levels of hunger, poverty, unemployment and displacement among others. UNDP Afghanistan is planning to devise a strategy to stimulate a bottom-up economic recovery that is based on the resilience of Afghanistan’s economic actors i.e. farmers, MSMEs and the wider private sector. As part of this strategy, UNDP will have limited and unofficial engagement with the public economic institutions to address any technical capacity gaps that will hinder recovery process.

UNDP has been active in the energy sector for several years and considers it a strategic sector for productive activities as well as a vital ingredient in the welfare of households, and intimately related to basic needs (food security and winter space heating). For these reasons, access to clean, sustainable, and affordable energy has been a key developmental objective for the UNDP.

Rationale for recruiting Energy Advisor (Oil & Gas)

In this context, UNDP Afghanistan is recruiting a National Consultant (Energy Advisor, Oil & Gas) to study the currently applicable institutional structures, mandate, roles and responsibilities etc at public energy institutions namely, Ministry of Energy and Water, Da Afghanistan Brishna Shirkat (DABS) or the national power grid and other involved stakeholders so as to help UNDP develop its energy portfolio and support the implementation of the ABADEI programme. 

Scope of work

The Energy Advisor (Oil & Gas) will be expected to conduct thematic analyses of energy production, transmission, consumption, imports and commercialization trends in Afghanistan and will produce and present policy notes, briefs and will contribute to working and research papers on their respective areas related to energy in Afghanistan. Additionally, the advisors will undertake comprehensive data collection, assessments, and analytical work in support of UNDP Policy Unit’s mandate, particularly with respect to production of knowledge products that are the basis of UNDP programmatic interventions in the areas of energy access, consumption and its role in economic recovery.

Job Summary

Hydrocarbons (oil and gas)

Petroleum derivatives have an important role in household energy as cooking and space heating fuels. As part of the scope of work for this assignment, the advisor will advise UNDP and technically engage the stakeholders on all aspects of the supply and distribution of hydrocarbons whether for productive or household consumption.

Tasks

The advisor will contribute to or independently conduct an assessment and analysis of the energy sector considering available resources, whether domestic or imported and the current utilization of energy whether in production or household consumption. They will review the main issues/problems facing the sector, and eventually advise on possible courses of action to resolve any such issues. Among other things, the experts will evaluate access to modern, sustainable energy by geographical location and by urban vs rural areas. Among all the uses of energy, the consultant will pay special attention to the energy needs of households, which should be considered in a holistic manner and seek options to improve access, supply, and quality of energy sources available to households. The consultant should conduct this analysis as a preliminary step in the preparation of an intervention in Household Energy by UNDP, and perhaps other donors.

If needed and useful, the consultant will study the current mandate for a Ministry of Energy and DABS and make any recommendations for better energy management. If there already is some elaboration, or version of such a mandate, the consultant will assist UNDP and potentially other stakeholders by providing assessments and recommendations aimed at improving this mandate, keeping in mind the responsibilities and authorities that overlap between several public institutions involved in water and energy.

The hydrocarbons expert will:

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Review the situation of supply of petroleum fuels in the country’s main agglomerations as well as in the countryside.

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Review what regulation (both technical and economic), if any, the DFA are enforcing on the import and marketing of petroleum fuels in Afghanistan, including cooking gas and kerosene whether by Ministry of Energy and Water or other relevant Ministries such as Commerce, or Finance).

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Engage with the stakeholders in facilitating the use of hydrocarbons in household energy, electricity generation, or industry.

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Analyze the role of energy in spurring business and economic activity and formulate technical policy briefers and notes that UNDP and other stakeholders can use to inform their activities and plans

The consultant will conduct their work with due skill and diligence and follow the best professional and technical standards for work on the energy sector. They will remain available for other tasks/duties within their competence which UNDP might reasonably request of them. The program described above is intended to occupy six months, initially with possibility of extensions. 

Submission Guideline :

Qualified candidates should submit their details, Resume and Cover Letter through our AHG portal linked with Jobs.af

Submission Email :