In January-October, Uzbekistan exported 4.07 BCM gas worth $841 million, the State Statistics Committee said on Monday.
This is 18% less than in the same period last year. Then the export volume topped 4.94 BCM gas worth $621 million.
Despite the decline in exports, in revenue increased by 35.4%. In particular, last year Uzbekistan sold 1 cubic meter of gas at an average price of 13 cents, while this year it was 21 cents (+61.5%). For comparison: the price of gas for the population, which has not changed since August 2019, is 380 soums (3.5 cents), for companies - 660 soums (5.9 cents).
In October, exports almost halved, from 778 million to 393 million cubic meters. Almost all gas goes to China, but the statistics of the two countries do not match. In particular, if Uzbekistan exported gas in October for only $91 million, the Chinese side reports imports of Uzbek gas worth $148.5 million.
Amid a blackout due to a shortage of gas at thermal power plants, Deputy Energy Minister Sherzod Khodjaev said on November 16 that Uzbekistan had almost completely suspended the export of gas and electricity to meet domestic needs. “As for the figures, if according to daily forecast figures it was planned to export 10 million cubic meters of gas, then the current export does not reach even 1 million cubic meters,” the Deputy Minister of Energy said.
The State Statistics Committee has not yet published data for November, but the vice-mayor of Kyrgyzstan's Osh, Sonunbek Zhunusbaev, told Kloop on November 25 that there were no restrictions from Uzbekistan.
“There are no restrictions. The gas pressure may drop a little during peak hours, but we [in such cases] talk to Uzbekistan and raise the pressure,” he said.
According to the official statistics of Kyrgyzstan, in January-September Uzbekistan supplied 25.3 million cubic meters of gas for $3.8 million, or $150 per thousand cubic meters of gas.
Gas production and problems associated with its shortage
IN 10 months of this year, Uzbekistan produced 43.77 BCM gas, 452.7 million cubic meters less than in the same period in 2021 - 44.24 BCM. Thus, if last year the country exported 11% of the total volume of gas produced, then in 2022 it will be almost 9.3%.
The day before, the Tashkent city mayor’s office reported that there were interruptions in the supply of gas in a number of districts of the capital, due to a cold snap. “Resources are running out,” the city administration said. Methane filling stations were temporarily closed to all vehicles except public transport.
The closure of methane filling stations the day before led to the fact that many residents did not wait for minibuses and could not call a taxi. In addition, many drivers left their cars at home. In this regard, the demand for public transport increased, but the buses could not accommodate everyone.
In September, President Shavkat Mirziyoyev reported that Uzbekistan was not exporting gas to develop domestic industry.
