TASHKENT, Uzbekistan, November 4. Uzbekistan plans to import more than 1 million tons of oil and petroleum products by the end of 2023, Uzbek Energy Minister Zhurabek Mirzamakhmudov said, Trend reports.
The remark was made during the XVI Verona Eurasian Economic Forum held in Uzbekistan’s Samarkand.
The minister noted the significant growth in planned import volumes and stated Uzbekistan’s readiness to further increase imports in 2024.
The official also noted that there is no shortage of gasoline in Uzbekistan, its supplies from Russia are carried out in accordance with the intergovernmental agreement.
Meanwhile, Uzbekistan has produced 584,500 tons of oil from January through September 2023
As per Uzbekistan’s State Statistics Committee, the recorded number reflects a 0.6 percent, or 3,400 tons, decrease compared to the same period last year, when Uzbekistan produced 587,900 tons of oil.
Overall, the total capacity of Uzbekistan's oil refineries amounts to 10 million tons. In recent years, the country has regularly experienced an acute shortage of gasoline and other types of petroleum products.
As per official statistics, oil production in Uzbekistan increased by 1.8 percent to 787,800 tons by the end of 2022, while gasoline production went up to 1.26 million tons, indicating an increase of 11.5 percent. Additionally, the volume of diesel fuel production increased by 5.9 percent and amounted to 800,100 tons.