TASHKENT (TCA) — Russian gas giant Gazprom and Uzbekistan’s national oil and gas company Uzbekneftegaz have signed an Agreement of Strategic Cooperation.
The document was signed by Alexey Miller, Chairman of the Management Board of Gazprom, and Gulomzhon Ibragimov, Deputy Prime Minister of Uzbekistan and Chairman of the Board of Governors of Uzbekneftegaz, at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum 2017 last week.
The document provides for joint efforts in the implementation of new Uzbekistan-based projects in such fields as gas infrastructure renovation, construction and operation; hydrocarbon exploration, production, processing and storage; use of compressed and liquefied natural gas for autonomous gasification purposes; and development of the General Scheme for Gas Supply to Uzbekistan, Gazprom said.
A working meeting was held between Alexey Miller and Gulomzhon Ibragimov. The meeting participants expressed their appreciation for the newly signed Agreement, noting that it would have a strong positive effect on the development of the Uzbek gas industry.
In 2006, Gazprom and Uzbekneftegaz inked the Agreement on the basic principles of geological exploration at investment blocks in the Ustyurt region of Uzbekistan.
On April 5, 2017, during Uzbekistan President Shavkat Mirziyoyev’s visit to Russia, Gazprom and Uzbekneftegaz inked a contract for 4 billion cubic meters of Uzbek gas to be purchased by Gazprom annually in the period of up to 5 years starting from 2018, as well as the Agreement on joint geological exploration and engineering & innovation work.
In 2016, Gazprom purchased around 6.2 billion cubic meters of natural gas from Uzbekistan.
