Fergana refinery returned to state ownership after investor struggles to meet obligations

Sokhibjon Murodov, the head of the State Assets Management Agency, said in an interview with Daryo that the agency had terminated its contract with Saneg, which acquired the refinery for $100 million in 2022.

“The investor faced financial difficulties in other investment projects, which led to difficulties in meeting its payment obligations. As a result, we terminated the contract, and the asset has now been returned to the state,” Murodov said.

He said there had been cases in Uzbekistan’s privatization program where investors failed to fulfill their commitments.

The Fergana refinery returned to state ownership in early June. According to the Unified State Register of Legal Entities, SAMA is now the sole founder of Fargona neftni qayta ishlash zavodi, holding 100% of its authorized capital worth UZS 124.54 billion.

In May, AUGA held a 58.5% stake in the refinery, while the remaining 41.5% was owned by Saneg.

The refinery was transferred to the trust management of Sanoat Energetika Guruhi in 2020, when the company operated under the Jizzakh Petroleum brand. In May 2022, SAMA announced the sale of the refinery to Saneg for $100 million.

Under the deal, Saneg was expected to invest $380 million in modernizing the facility, including expanding the production of gasoline, diesel fuel and gas, and increase its capacity to at least 2 million tonnes a year.

In September 2022, Saneg announced plans for a major modernization of the refinery to produce higher-quality gasoline, lubricants and other products. The project was expected to attract $400 million, with the company saying it had already secured more than $160 million at the time.

Saneg’s wider financial difficulties later affected its strategic projects. In January 2026, the Cabinet of Ministers ordered that new investors be attracted to several of the group’s strategic projects, including the modernization of the Fergana refinery.

The government also decided to sell non-core assets belonging to Saneg, Enter Engineering and Eriell. It became known in early March that the decision was linked to the need to repay $131 million in wage arrears accumulated by the group.

Murodov also cited Coca-Cola Uzbekistan and SamAuto among major privatized assets. He said Coca-Cola had fully met its obligations for purchase payments and investment, while SamAuto was still fulfilling its investment agreement, which involves $80 million in commitments.