TASHKENT (TCA) — Uzbekistan plans by 2022 to increase its annual production of natural gas by 53.5 billion cubic meters, gas condensate by 1.1 million tons, and oil by 1.9 million tons, following from materials of the Uzbekneftegaz national oil and gas company distributed during the Global Oil & Gas Uzbekistan-2017 international exhibition in Tashkent last week, Fergana News Agency reported citing Interfax.
This is stipulated by the program for increasing hydrocarbon production for 2017-2021 approved by President of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev.
According to BP, which annually compiles rating of the leading countries for the production of natural gas, Uzbekistan produced 57.7 billion cubic meters in 2015. According to the plans of Uzbekneftegaz the country will be producing more than 111 billion cubic meters annually by 2022.
Meanwhile, the proven gas reserves in the country are 1.1 trillion cubic meters. With a twofold increase of extraction these hydrocarbon reserves would be sufficient for 10 years.
Uzbekistan is among the ten largest gas producing countries in the world and the third among the CIS countries. Most of the Uzbek gas is exported to China and Russia. In particular, in June 2010 Uzbekneftegaz and China’s CNPC entered into a framework agreement on the purchase and sale of natural gas in the amount of up to 10 billion cubic meters per year.
Meanwhile, the population of Uzbekistan is experiencing an acute shortage of gas every year. In many places people have returned to using firewood and dried manure, Fergana reported.
