TASHKENT, Uzbekistan, November 6. The volume of natural gas collected by Uzbekistan in preparation for the upcoming winter season amounted to 3.44 billion cubic meters as of November 6, 2023, head of the information service of Uzbekistan’s Uztransgas JSC Shakhnoza Ravshanova said, Trend reports.
As per the company representative, the fixed volume almost reached the 3.5 billion cubic meters mark planned by Uztransgas.
Meanwhile, President of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev instructed to increase the reserves of natural gas in the country's underground storage facilities to 3.5 billion cubic meters for stable operation of the energy system.
Last year Uzbekistan suffered badly due to weak gas production, lacking up to 20 mcm of gas daily. The problem has not been resolved, as earlier this year Veolia Energy Tashkent, the operator of the Tashkent heat supply system, said that due to a shortage of natural gas, heat at the required temperature is not generated in certain areas of the capital. The problem was also confirmed by city authorities, who reported that, against the backdrop of a sharp drop in temperature, there were interruptions in the supply of gas and heat. The officials added that Uzbekistan is falling short on gas resources, despite attempts by utilities to distribute available gas reserves equally among all consumers.
On October 7, 2023, Russia began gas supplies to Uzbekistan through the territory of Kazakhstan to cover part of the shortage of natural gas in the country. The contract for the purchase of gas was concluded for two years with the volume of purchases amounting to 9 million cubic meters per day and about 2.8 billion cubic meters per year.
On November 4, Uzbekistan’s Energy Minister Zhurabek Mirzamakhmudov told reporters that the republic has already received 300 million cubic meters of gas from Russia since the start of deliveries.