Kazakhstan plans to begin gas transit to Uzbekistan by October end 

The Ministry of Energy of Kazakhstan expects to launch gas transit from Russia to Uzbekistan by the end of October, TASS writes citing the head of the ministry Almasadam Satkaliyev.

At the briefing, the official said that the repairs of gas pipelines on Kazakh territory necessary to begin pumping are coming to an end. A separate line will be allocated for accounting for blue fuel.

“I think that in the near future, upon completion of these works, we will be able to announce the start of transit,” Satkaliev said and added that according to the schedule, “the work should be completed by the end of this month”.

Separately, the minister clarified that the volume of supplies will be agreed upon in accordance with the application of Uzbekistan. He promised to reveal the exact figure after Tashkent submitted its application.

Last week, press secretary of the Ministry of Energy of Uzbekistan Khasan Tashkhodjayev said that the country’s infrastructure is ready to receive Russian gas. However, he did not specify the timing of the start of deliveries.

Flow from the north

In November 2022, Russia proposed creating a “gas union” with the participation of Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan. Among his goals, the media named the coordination of gas transit and its supplies to other markets, in particular to China.

In January, the energy ministries of Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan signed cooperation plans with Gazprom. Initially, plans were reported to launch the transit of Russian blue fuel as early as March 1, but the infrastructure was not ready for this.

Nevertheless, the parties continued to discuss the “gas union”. At the end of May, the head of Gazprom, Alexey Miller, and Jurabek Mirzamakhmudov held a meeting at which the issue of Russian gas supplies to Uzbekistan was discussed.

In early June, Satkaliyev announced his readiness to ensure the transit of Russian gas to Uzbekistan. The infrastructure is planned to be prepared for the autumn-winter season of 2024, he said.

Soon, Uzbekistan and Russia formalized an agreement on gas supplies. Under the terms of the agreement concluded at the same time between UzGasTrade and Gazprom Export, up to 2.8 billion cubic meters of blue fuel will be supplied per year.

In August, it was reported that Kazakhstan was discussing gas supplies from Russia to Uzbekistan in the amount of 1.5 to 10 billion cubic meters. However, the volume of transit depends on the readiness of the Uzbek energy system and Gazprom.