Alexey Belogoryev, Research and Development Director of the Institute for Energy and Finance, commented on the supply of Russian gas to Central Asian countries to Novye Izvestia.
Uzbekistan has signed a long-term agreement with China for 10 billion cubic meters of gas per year, which it chronically does not fulfill, says Alexey Belogoryev. The reason is that the republic has a gas shortage. Over the past three years, Uzbekistan has carried out structural reforms, partial privatization, and reduced taxes, which has allowed the economy to grow up to 5% per year. Domestic demand is growing, while domestic production is falling. Therefore, Russia's proposal came in handy.
An exchange operation was discussed in Tashkent. Gazprom supplies gas to the domestic market of Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan, and both Central Asian republics supply their gas to China, the expert explains:— Uzbekistan is developing a large-scale gas and chemical program, they are building several large gas chemical plants, plus the peculiarity is that Uzbekistan is one of the few countries in the world where gas is the main fuel for motor transport. 74% of all cars in Uzbekistan use gas. This market also needs to be constantly serviced, that is, there are large gas needs in the country, which will increase the deficit in the next few years. More imports will be needed," the expert said.
— Nothing is reported about the details of the negotiations and their status, but, apparently, the main issue is the distribution of export margins. Gas costs more in China, and Gazprom would like to receive a higher price and a higher share of this margin. But no one reveals the details of the negotiations, in addition, this concerns Uzbekistan to a lesser extent, but Kazakhstan is very wary of the growth of its dependence on traditional gas.
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