Uzbekistan increased gas exports to China in October

In October, Uzbekistan’s gas supplies to China increased slightly, according to data from the Chinese General Administration of Customs.

During the month, revenue from the export of blue fuel amounted to $42.24 million, or 1.5% more than in September. However, it remains significantly lower than the amount in summer months, and the revenue of neighboring Kazakhstan exceeds Uzbekistan’s by more than three times – it received $131.3 million.

Turkmenistan remains the leader in the supply of pipeline gas to China, earning $666.1 million in October alone. Russia took second place with $386 million, and Myanmar also entered the top 5 with $113.3 million.

Since the beginning of the year, China has received gas from Uzbekistan for $454.4 million. For comparison, a year earlier, the volume of gas supplies in January-October amounted to $916.7 million.

Over the past ten months, the largest supplier of blue fuel through pipelines was again Turkmenistan with $8.07 billion, followed by Russia ($5.36 billion), and Myanmar ($1.23 billion). Kazakhstan exported $1.08 billion worth of gas to China in January-October 2023.

In recent years, Uzbekistan has been consolidating its status as a gas importer. Thus, in September, fuel imports from Turkmenistan increased sharply, and in October, gas imports from Russia through Kazakhstan via the Central Asia-Center pipeline system began.

Shavkat Mirziyoyev has stated several times that Uzbekistan will stop exporting gas as a raw material. During a visit to the construction site of the Surkhan gas chemical complex near the M25 field, he noted that the main goal should be the processing of gas into products with high added value.