In 2024, the volume of transportation of Russian gas through the territory of Kazakhstan to Uzbekistan will increase almost three times compared to the previous year. This was reported by the Ministry of Energy of Kazakhstan, Trend reports.
Within the framework of the strategic cooperation agreement signed between Gazprom and the Government of the Republic of Kazakhstan, it was agreed to increase the volume of annual deliveries of Russian gas to Uzbekistan from 1.28 billion cubic metres in 2023 to 3.8 billion cubic metres in 2024.
In October 2023, the presidents of the three countries inaugurated the transit of Russian gas through the territory of Kazakhstan to Uzbekistan via the Central Asia-Central gas main.
According to the agreement between UzGasTrade and Gazprom, daily deliveries will be 9 million cubic metres, or 2.8 billion cubic metres per year. According to Kommersant, this volume will cost about $448 million, or about $160 per 1,000 cubic metres of gas.
The plan was to increase supplies from 3 billion cubic metres to 11 billion cubic metres per year from 2026.
Earlier it was reported that the Uzbek authorities were planning to modernise the main gas system at a cost of $500 million to increase gas imports from the “north”. Uzbekistan already receives Russian gas through this route. The administration aims to increase supplies from 9 to 32 million cubic metres per day.
In February, the World Bank warned of a possible increase in the gas supply-demand imbalance in Central Asian countries.
Uzbekistan imported more gas than it exported in 2023, with the supply gap totalling more than $165 million.