Uzbekistan is gearing up to significantly increase its imports of natural gas from Russia, with transit through the territory of Kazakhstan. The Kazakh Ministry of Energy has confirmed this development, TASS reported on March 5.
The Minister of Energy of Kazakhstan, Almasadam Satkaliev, highlighted that last year witnessed the commencement of Russian gas transit through Kazakhstan to Uzbekistan, with an initial volume of up to 3 bn cubic meters per year. However, plans are now underway to amplify this transit volume significantly.
Uzbekistan's government investment program for the first quarter of 2024 outlined intentions to boost gas imports from Russia from the existing 9 to 32 mn cubic meters per day. Furthermore, by 2030, the state-owned company Uztransgaz plans to invest $470 mn in modernizing the gas transportation infrastructure and doubling the capacity of the Gazli gas storage facility.
The transit of Russian gas through Kazakhstan to Uzbekistan commenced on October 7, 2023 with the Kazakh Ministry of Energy reporting transit volumes of 800 mn cubic meters by the end of last year. It is anticipated that deliveries will reach 2.8 bn cubic meters for the year.
Alexey Miller, the head of Gazprom, disclosed in October plans for Central Asian and Russian cooperation in the gas sector over the next 15 years. Gazprom intends to expand the Central Asia-Center gas pipeline system to facilitate increased supplies.
Russian Ambassador to Uzbekistan, Oleg Malginov, revealed in February ongoing discussions between the countries regarding a new long-term gas contract, which would involve a substantial increase in supplies.
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