Uzbekistan is planning to triple the volume of natural gas imports from Russia via transit through Kazakhstan in 2024, TASS reported citing the press service of Kazakhstan’s Ministry of Energy.
"With the signed strategic cooperation agreement between Gazprom Public Joint Stock Company and the Government of the Republic of Kazakhstan, it is determined to increase the annual volume of Russian gas transportation to Uzbekistan from 1.28 billion cubic meters in 2023 to 3.8 billion cubic meters in 2024," said Kazakhstan’s Ministry of Energy.
From 2026, Russian gas supplies transiting through Kazakhstan to Uzbekistan could quadruple — reaching 11 billion cubic meters annually.
In the Uzbek government's investment program for the first quarter of 2024, there were plans to increase gas imports from Russia from the current 9 million to 32 million cubic meters of gas per day. Further, by 2030, the state company Uztransgaz intends to invest $470 million to modernize the gas transport system and double the capacity of the Gazli gas storage facility.
It should be recalled that the supplies of Russian gas through Kazakhstan to Uzbekistan started on October 7. According to Kazakhstan’s Ministry of Energy, transit by the end of last year amounted to 800 million cubic meters, with an expected annual delivery of 2.8 billion cubic meters.
At the end of October, head of Gazprom, Alexey Miller, stated that Central Asian countries and Russia are discussing a cooperation agreement in the gas sector for the next 15 years. To increase supplies, the Russian state company plans to expand the "Central Asia — Center" gas pipeline system.
In early February, the Russian ambassador to Uzbekistan, Oleg Malginov, mentioned that Uzbekistan and Russia are discussing the conclusion of a new long-term gas contract with "a certain increase in supplies."
Last year, Uzbekistan purchased natural gas from Russia at a price significantly higher than domestic gas tariffs. A thousand cubic meters cost $160 — which, however, is notably lower than prices for Turkey and China.
However, the Ministry of Energy refuses to disclose the price of imported pipeline gas from Russia and Turkmenistan, citing confidentiality.
