The company’s chief geologist, Nodir Mukhiddinov, outlined the situation at a press conference on October 27.
Uzbekneftegaz and its subsidiaries produced around 17 billion cubic meters of gas in January–September 2026. The company expects to reach 22.8 billion cubic meters for the full year, down from 25.2 billion cubic meters in 2025. If the target is met, annual production will fall by about 9.5%.
Mukhiddinov attributed the decline primarily to the depletion of reserves at major gas fields, where more than 80% of recoverable reserves have already been extracted. Production at these deposits continues to fall, while new exploration and wells brought into operation have yet to make up for the losses.
“Currently, the additional production from new exploration and newly discovered wells at new fields does not fully offset this decline,” the chief geologist said.
Well repairs and compressor stations
At the beginning of the year, Uzbekneftegaz was producing 65 million cubic meters of gas per day. Since then, baseline production has declined by 12.6 million cubic meters a day, of which around 5 million cubic meters has yet to be replaced.
To slow the decline, the company has carried out major and routine repairs on 79 wells since the beginning of the year using its own resources.
Uzbekneftegaz plans to bring daily production back to its early-year level by December. Its measures include continuing well repairs and bringing into operation facilities identified through geological exploration.
The company also plans to launch wellhead compressor stations and carry out complex overhauls, including drilling sidetracks in wells that have been taken out of service.
