Tashkent, Uzbekistan, Dec.29
By Demir Azizov- Trend:
According to Uzbekneftegaz National Holding Company (NHC), the proven natural gas reserves of Uzbekistan amount to 2.44 trillion cubic meters, around 1.89 trillion cubic meters of which is free gas, the rest is associated gas- the one dissolved in the oil and contained in gas caps of oil fields.
The amount of extracted proven hydrocarbon reserves of industrial category is over 2.5 billion tons of conventional fuel (mainly gaseous hydrocarbons) in Uzbekistan as of early 2013.
According to Uzbekneftegaz, the monopoly operator of the oil and gas industry of Uzbekistan, some 243 oil and gas fields were discovered in Uzbekistan as of early 2013.
Around 104 of the total number of fields are being developed, some 79 fields have been prepared for development and have been conserved, and geological exploration work is being carried out in 60 of them.
The territory of Uzbekistan is divided into five oil and gas regions: Ustyurt, Bukhara-Khiva, Surkhandarya, Hissar, and Fergana- and comprises 208,900 square kilometers.
The major part, 75 percent of Uzbekistan's oil and gas resources is concentrated in Karakalpakstan and Aral Sea territories surrounding it. The increase of "blue fuel" reserves in Ustyurt is expected to be in the volume of over 1 trillion tons, which will account for about 60 percent of the total forecasted increase of gas reserves in the republic in the long term (25 years).
A program was worked out in Uzbekneftegaz national holding company. The program ensures the growth of raw material reserves from 75 to 112 million tons of standard fuel up to 2020 by increasing the deep exploration and parametric drilling volumes. In particular, the natural gas reserves by industrial categories will be increased from 60 to 85 billion cubic meters per year, which will increase the resource base and gas export.
According to the official statistics, Uzbekistan reduced natural gas production by 0.2 percent to 62.911 billion cubic meters, gas condensate - by 5.6 percent to 1.604 million tons in 2012 compared to 2011.
The total consumption of natural gas amounted to 43.1 million tons of fuel oil equivalent in Uzbekistan in 2012.
Uzbekistan currently exports the main volumes of gas to China and Russia.
Gas transportation
The Uztransgaz joint stock company - Uzbekneftegaz's subsidiary controls the activity for gas transportation and delivery in Uzbekistan.
At present, around 13,274 kilometers of trunk gas pipelines, 24 gas compressor and 310 gas distribution stations, as well as three underground gas storage facilities with a total capacity of 4.5 billion cubic meters of gas are used in the Uztransgaz system.
Central Asia- Center Gas Pipeline
The Central Asia-Center gas pipeline was put into operation in late 1960 with a capacity of 80 billion cubic meters per year. Over time, the pipeline's power was reduced to 40-50 billion cubic meters per year. Reconstruction is necessary.
In the north-western Uzbekistan, some powerful sections of Central Asia - Center and Bukhara-Ural gas transmission systems are laid, which are designed for transit and export of Uzbek natural gas to Russia.
In late December 2012 Gazprom and Uzbekneftegaz signed a contract to buy Uzbek gas and the agreement on the gas transportation through the Uzbek territory for the period from 2013 to 2015.
Uzbekistan will deliver 7.5 billion cubic meters of gas at about $253 per 1,000 cubic meters to Gazprom in 2013 in accordance with the signed documents.
Central Asia-China gas pipeline
The length of 'Central Asia-China' gas pipeline through the territory of Turkmenistan is 188 kilometers, Uzbekistan - 525 kilometers, Kazakhstan - 1,293 kilometers, China - more than 4,860 kilometers. The gas pipeline was laid to the city of Guangzhou, China, where gas is distributed through existing gas branches.
The first branch of the gas pipeline with diameter of 1,067 mm, length of 530 kilometers and capacity of 40 billion cubic meters of gas per year runs through territory of Bukhara, Kashkadarya and Navoi regions following to Kazakhstan's gas transport system.
The construction of the first section started on July 1, 2008. Construction of the first branch of the pipeline's Uzbek section was completed in late 2009.
Construction of the second branch of the Central Asia-China pipeline's Uzbek section, with the capacity of transporting 25 billion cubic meters of gas annually for pumping gas volumes from the fields in Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan and Kazakhstan was completed in late 2010.
In October 2011, the Uztransgaz JSC and Chinese Petro China International Company Limited signed a contract to supply China with about 10 billion cubic meters of Uzbek gas. Regular gas supplies to China started in August 2012. In December 2011, Uzbekistan and China started the construction of the third branch of the Central Asia-China gas pipeline.
The total length of the third line will be 1,840 kilometres. The section's length passing through Uzbekistan will be 529 kilometres. Construction of the new pipe worth $2.2 billion and with a capacity of 25 billion cubic meters of gas per year is scheduled to be completed in 2014.
The project is financed by loans from the China Development Bank (CDB), as well as direct investments of China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC).
An agreement has been reached on construction of the fourth branch of the Turkmenistan-Uzbekistan-Tajikistan-Kyrgyzstan-China gas pipeline. The project is planned to be commissioned in 2016 and its capacity will amount to 25 billion cubic meters of gas per year.
Translated by L.Z., N.H., M.L., E.A.
Edited by C.N.
