Uzbekistan’s Decreasing Natural Resource Production
Uzbekistan’s Energy Sector Faces Challenges Amid Declining Production
Uzbekistan has seen a continued decrease in its production of natural gas, oil, and gasoline in the first 11 months of 2024, despite a rise in natural gas exports. Data from the Statistics Agency reveals a 4.7% decline in gas extraction and a 7.3% drop in oil production compared to the same period last year. Gasoline production has also decreased for the fourth consecutive month.
Gas production has been on a downward trend in Uzbekistan, with 40.75 billion cubic meters of natural gas extracted from January to November 2024, down by almost 2 billion cubic meters or 4.7% compared to 2023. This marks a consistent decrease in monthly production over the year. The decline in gas production has been ongoing for six years, with a 24% reduction since 2018, from 61.59 billion cubic meters to an estimated 46.71 billion cubic meters in 2023, with further acceleration in 2024.
The government’s strategic goal outlined in the “Uzbekistan – 2030” strategy to increase natural gas production to 62 billion cubic meters annually is at risk due to the continuous decline in production.
As domestic production struggles, Uzbekistan has increased its natural gas imports significantly, with expenditures on gas imports reaching $1.552 billion between January and November, 2.8 times higher than the previous year. On the other hand, natural gas exports have grown by 16.5%, reaching $593 million, with a noticeable surge in recent months. Energy Minister Jurabek Mirzamahmudov has predicted that gas imports could reach 10-11 billion cubic meters annually by 2030.
While coal production has seen a significant increase of 27.5% year-on-year to 7.328 million tons, and electricity generation has also risen by 4.5% to 73.6 billion kWh, other energy sector developments have shown declines. Oil production decreased by 7.3% to 657,000 tons, while diesel fuel production fell by 2.9% to 912,000 tons, and gasoline output dropped by 2.4% to 1.186 million tons.
The challenges faced by Uzbekistan’s energy sector highlight the need for strategic planning and investment to address the declining production of key energy resources.
