BAKU, Azerbaijan, July 17
By Ilkin Seyfaddini – Trend:
Uzbekistan has completely stopped exporting natural gas to Russia and significantly reduced exports to China, Trend reports to Uzbekistan 24 TV channel.
The head of state got acquainted with new projects in oil and gas and chemical industries, electrotechnical and pharmaceutical industries via video-conferencing on July 16, 2020.
During the meeting it was noted that the exports of natural gas from Uzbekistan to China have fallen by two-thirds, while supplies to Russia have been halted altogether due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Moreover, Uzbekneftegaz made a statement on the implementation of forecasts for the first half of the year, despite the quarantine: one billion cubic meters of natural gas, almost 22,000 tons of condensate and 1,200 tons of oil were produced. Investments worth $846.5 million were made in 11 projects.
Shavkat Mirziyoyev gave instructions to reduce gas imports, improve product quality and localization.
With the increased domestic gas supply, Uzbekistan plans to produce more refined products such as chemicals, according to the state television report.
Prime Minister Abdulla Aripov said for the first time in January 2020 that Uzbekistan plans to stop gas exports by 2025 and fully process gas inside the country.
PetroChina, the main Chinese importer, issued a force majeure notice citing the coronavirus outbreak in March and significantly reduced its purchases across Central Asia.
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