In February, Uzbekistan witnessed decline in gas production, according to the Statistics Agency’s report on industrial production reviewed by Gazeta.uz.
Gas production reached 3.71 billion cubic meters, marking the lowest since last September (3.77 billion). This represented a 3.5%, or 137.5 million cubic meters, drop compared to February 2023, with a decrease of 284.2 million cubic meters by January 2024. For comparison, in February 2019, production stood at 4.81 billion cubic meters. Thus, over the past five years, monthly production has fallen by 1.1 billion cubic meters.
Electricity generation amounted to 6.42 billion kWh in February, down by 547.6 million kWh compared to the same month last year, when the country faced an energy crisis. This also marked a decline of 626.6 million kWh from the previous month.
Reminding that approximately 80−85% of the electricity produced in the country comes from gas-fueled thermal power plants, though their contribution is diminishing with the introduction of new photovoltaic capacity.
Coal production increased by 12.8% compared to February 2023, reaching 301,200 tons (+34,200). However, this was a decrease of 56,600 tons from the previous month’s production of 357,800 tons.
Oil production fell to 58 thousand tons, representing a 4.1%, or 2,500 tons, decrease from January and the lowest level since February 2022. Compared to February 2023, the drop was 7.6%, or 4,800 tons. Production declined for the seventh consecutive month.
Motor gasoline production totaled 116,500 tons, down 6.5%, or 8,100 tons from January (124,600 tons) and 7,800 tons from the same period last year.
Diesel fuel output increased by 122,700 tons, from 22,700 tons to 72,900 tons, compared to February 2023.
At the end of 2023, gas production in Uzbekistan declined by almost 5 billion cubic meters. The output of oil and gas condensate also decreased. Meanwhile, coal production surged by 15.5% to 6.2 million tons. Production of electricity, gasoline and diesel also increased.
Last year, Uzbekistan imported more gas than it exported, resulting in a disparity in supplies exceeding $165 million. Gazeta.uz analyzed the factors contributing to this situation, despite the country’s substantial gas reserves.
Recently, we reported that Uzbekneftegaz, Uzbekistan’s largest gas producer, is investing hundreds of millions of U.S. dollars into expanding gas production, yet its output continues to decline.
