Uzbekistan’s underground gas storage stations (UGSS) Gazli and Khojaabad were 98% full as of November 6, 2023. Shakhnoza Ravshanova, head of UzTransGaz press service, shared the update with Gazeta.uz.
In particular, 3.445 billion cubic meters of gas were pumped out of 3.5 billion cubic meters planned as part of preparations for the fall-winter season. This is without taking into account last year’s gas residues. It should be noted that the capacity of UGSS Khojaabad is 900 million cubic meters, while the capacity of the UGSS Gazli is three billion cubic meters.
Ms. Ravshanova stipulated that five wells have been drilled within the framework of the project to increase the volume of active gas storage in UGSS Khojaabad.
The head of press-service noted that as extraction has not started yet due to favorable weather conditions; the pumping continues.
On September 11, 2023, in an interview with Gazeta.uz, Minister of Energy Jurabek Mirzamakhmudov stated that UGSS Gazli and Khojaaba accumulated about three billion cubic meters of gas. This number comprises last year’s balances.
Back then, the head of the Energy Ministry unveiled that 3.2 billion cubic meters of gas were planned to be pumped to meet the balance. The capacity of Gazli was to expand to 4.5 billion cubic meters by the end of the year, and in the long run — up to 10 billion cubic meters, added Mr. Mirzamakhmudov.
“The first task is to pump the gas. The second is to extract it. If last year we withdrew 18 million cubic meters per day at most, and on one day, I think, even 20 million, this year we will be able to extract at least 30 million cubic meters. Thereby, 10 million cubic meters per day are added to the daily resource due to the installation of two gas pumping units,” he said.
JV LLC Gazli Gas Storage, established by JSC Uzbekneftegaz and Russia’s Forus, plans to double the volume of UGSS Gazli by 2025. Gazeta.uz reported that authors of the paper “On the state of Uzbekistan’s oil and gas industry” raised questions about the necessity of the project.
