Tasks for the development of oil and gas industry were defined

On November 20, President Shavkat Mirziyoyev chaired a meeting devoted to the discussion of tasks for the enhancement of the oil and gas industry of Uzbekistan, the presidential press service reported.

The oil and gas industry holds an important place in the economy of our country. It is not only an energy source, but also a key supply of raw materials for the production of polymers, organic chemicals and nitrogen fertilizers necessary for all sectors of the economy.

Over the past two years, as a result of measures taken in the industry, gas production increased by 10 percent, natural gas supply rose by 15 percent, and liquefied gas — by 1.6 times.

During this period, the refineries produced an additional 204,000 tons of petroleum products, and the domestic market’s demand for gasoline and diesel fuel is fully satisfied.

For further development of the oil and gas sector until 2030, it is planned to implement 30 investment projects worth $ 36.5 billion in geological exploration, production and deep processing of hydrocarbons.

It was noted at the meeting that if specific measures are not taken to increase hydrocarbon reserves, the existing supplies will be halved over the next 10-15 years. In this regard, the leadership of the Uzbekneftegaz National Holding Company was instructed to expand the scope of geological exploration and increase production volumes, modernize existing and open new fields, deeply process oil and gas resources, and expand investment attraction. The company is tasked with broader attraction of investors in exploration and production based on international experience, to make specific proposals for the creation of new mechanisms aimed at ensuring equal protection of the interests of the state and investors.

It was noted that the main part of the gas pipelines and the gas distribution system was built in the last century and is in need of repair. In the future, in order to guarantee the supply of natural gas to consumers, a project worth $ 1.6 billion will be implemented to modernize the gas transmission system and control gas flows (SCADA).

The president criticized the slow progress of reforms at the JSC Uzbekneftegaz. He said that it is due to excessive complexity and multi-stage management of the company.

To improve the management system, instructions were given to optimize the organizational structure of the JSC Uzbekneftegaz and to remove non-core organizations from the system. In particular, the tasks were set to reduce managerial units with duplicate functions, transfer service enterprises and auxiliary production to investors on the basis of a public-private partnership.