Uzbekistan may import gas in case of abnormal cold weather – Ministry of Energy

Tashkent, November 9 - Neftegaz.RU. Uzbekistan does not rule out the possible import of natural gas in winter in the event of a sharp increase in demand in severe cold conditions, Interfax reported, citing the press service of the country's energy ministry.
The message says:

• With an abnormal cold snap and lack of own resources, it is possible that gas will be purchased abroad in order to provide the population and socially important facilities of the republic

According to the Ministry of Energy, it is planned to supply 32.622 billion m³ of natural gas to domestic consumers in the current autumn-winter period, more than 3 billion m³ have been pumped into underground gas storage facilities.

As noted in the department, in the context of a sharp drop in air temperature, according to the adopted regulatory legal acts, seasonal consumers are obliged to switch to alternative types of fuel, and the released volumes of gas will be additionally directed to meet the needs of the social sphere, objects of strategic importance and the population.

According to the State Statistics Committee of Uzbekistan, natural gas production in the country in 2020:

• decreased by 17.8% compared to 2019 to 49.739 billion m³
• its exports in value terms decreased 4.7 times – to $ 478.1 million and imports, which were almost not carried out, amounted to $ 50.4 million

It should be noted that earlier Uzbekistan had already purchased natural gas from Turkmenistan through Russia.

According to the reporting and memorandum of the June issue of Gazprom's Eurobonds, in 2020 Uzbekistan purchased 0.9 billion m³ of Turkmen «blue fuel» through a Russian company, and in the 1^st quarter of 2021 – already 1.5 billion m³.