Kazakhstan also looking to Moscow for imports
Оригинальный текст опубликован на сайте «Upstream», 9 October 2023 10:25 GMT . Автор: Материал доступен по .
Russia has begun natural gas exports to Uzbekistan in a bid to increase its political influence in former Central Asian Soviet republics facing economic challenges.
Presidents Shavkat Mirziyoyev of Uzbekistan and Kassym-Jomart Tokayev of Kazakhstan travelled to Moscow over the weekend to join Russian President Vladimir Putin at a ceremony marking the first flow of gas to Uzbekistan.
Kazakhstan serves a gas transit country today but hopes to reach a similar agreement with Russia to receive pipeline gas for the eastern and northeastern parts of the country, including the capital, Astana.
Kazakhstan expects Gazprom to build a gas network capable of handling up to 40 billion cubic metres per annum, according to a presentation made by Kazakh Energy Minister Almasadam Satkaliyev during this week’s visit, as reported by Kazakh news agency Kazinform.
Uzbek gas supplies
Deliveries to Uzbekistan, agreed in the second quarter of this year, involved reversing the direction of flow on Soviet-era gas pipelines originally built to bring Central Asian gas to Russia.
Russian gas giant Gazprom has committed to supply 2.8 Bcm per annum of gas to Uzbekistan, maintaining the winter delivery rate of at least 9 million cubic metres per day of gas.
Article continues below the advert
Speaking to state television channel Ozbekiston24, Uzbek Energy Minister Jurabek Mirzamakhmudov said Russian gas supplies would help address a ddeficit of domestic gas during the upcoming winter.
“Also, Russian gas supplies will become an add-on to foster the social and economic development of Uzbekistan,” he added.
The International Monetary Fund has projected that Uzbekistan, the most populous of the former Soviet Republics in Central Asia, will see 5.3% gross domestic product growth this year.
Speaking at an economic forum in Sochi last week, Putin described Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan and other former Soviet Republics in the region as “friends” that can rely on Russian gas supplies.
Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan have invested in upgrades to their legacy gas pipeline networks to accommodate Russian gas deliveries, including a new metering station in the former’s Karakalpakstan region.
Russia and Uzbekistan also signed two intergovernmental agreements over the weekend calling for larger supplies of Russian oil and fuels to the country.
Russian offer for Europe
Putin said he was leaving the door open to supplying natural gas to European companies through the remaining line of Nord Stream 2.
Two subsea lines of the Nord Stream 1 pipeline and one line of Nord Stream 2 were heavily damaged by explosions in September last year.
A single line of Nord Stream 2 can bring about 27.5 Bcm of Russian gas to Germany per year.
“The decision only rests with the German government”, Putin said of the Nord Stream 2 import option.
Putin also said that Russia is not interested in halting the transit of Russian gas to Europe via Ukraine to deprive the war-torn country of transit revenues, as some have suggested, because western companies are paying significantly more to Gazprom for the gas.
