On Wednesday, 1 November 2023, the head of Russian gas giant Gazprom, Alexei Miller, and the Minister of Energy of Uzbekistan, Zhurabek Mirzamakhmudov, signed a strategic memorandum on cooperation in the energy sector.
The document was inked at a working meeting within the framework of the St. Petersburg International Gas Forum 2023.
The memorandum outlines the parties’ intention to develop cooperation in the field of gas supplies and transportation, as well as in the field of exploration and production of hydrocarbons.
Miller and Mirzamakhmudov discussed the current state and prospects of cooperation, including the supply of Russian gas to Uzbekistan through Kazakhstan, which started in October 2023.
The parties noted the importance of the specially allocated route based on the Central Asia – Center gas trunk pipeline system for stable energy supply to consumers in Uzbekistan, especially during the autumn-winter period.
Russian gas supplies to Uzbekistan are stable
Mirzamakhmudov confirmed that Russian gas supplies to Uzbekistan are stable and that the parties are discussing new gas supplies to the country, particularly for the peak autumn-winter period, TASS reports.
He also said that Uzbekistan and Gazprom are working on expanding oil and petroleum product imports to meet the country’s growing refining needs.
In October 2023, Russia began supplying 2.8 billion cubic meters of natural gas per year to Uzbekistan in transit through Kazakhstan via the Central Asia-Center pipeline, which started operating in reverse mode. The contract is for a period of two years. ///nCa, 2 November 2023