Uzbekneftegaz indebted to China Petroleum more than $16 million

The JSC Uzbekneftegaz owes more than $16 million to China Petroleum Technology & Development Corporation (CPTDC) for services rendered and equipment supplied. This is stated in a letter of the Chinese company, received by Kun.uz.

“During the time of cooperation and performance of contractual obligations entered into between our corporation CPTDC and the JSC Uzbekneftegaz, a debt in the amount of $16,041,955.80 was formed," the letter states.

The debt of the JSC Uzbekneftegaz to CPTDC, which is a subsidiary of CNPC, was formed on seven contracts. The Chinese company claims that in order to resolve the issue peacefully, “many times and for quite a long time letters were addressed” to the JSC Uzbekneftegaz management.

“We received an answer to our numerous requests that the debt was not paid due to the lack of necessary foreign currency. This is a clear refusal and unwillingness to pay, and since this has been going on for more than 10 years we were forced to turn to President of the Republic of Uzbekistan,” the letter says.

At the talks on December 20, 2017, the fact of the existence of indebtedness was confirmed and “taking into account the wishes and financial possibilities” of the JSC Uzbekneftegaz, the repayment schedule until October 31, 2018 was drawn up. The letter also emphasizes that, based on partnership considerations, the Chinese company agreed to postpone the payment of part of the accounts payable in the amount of more than $4 million to 2019, “but until now only $100,000 have been transferred”. 

“Our repeated appeals regarding the repayment of arrears by the JSC Uzbekneftegaz towards CPTDC, and our perseverance are due to the fact that China’s tax and other financial institutions, considering that we are a public corporation, inappropriate debt collection is considered as corrupt actions,” the letter says.

In this regard, the company considers such an attitude to be incorrect and non-partner, capable of damaging the reputation of Uzbekneftegaz. They hope that the payables will be repaid soon. The press service of Uzbekneftegaz reported that they will publicize the official response before the end of the day.

Divisions of the state corporation CNPC, including CPTDC, concluded a number of contracts with enterprises of Uzbekistan for the purchase of natural gas, investment in the construction of the Central Asia-China gas pipeline, and supplies of various equipment for a total amount of several billion dollars.