OREANDA-NEWS Uzbekistan has completely stopped exporting gas produced in the country due to a significant increase in domestic demand with the arrival of cold weather, writes Prime with reference to the words of the chairman of the Board of Uztransgaz Behzot Narmatov on the local Sevimli TV channel.

"All gas exports, including to China, have been suspended by 100 percent, and this volume has been sent to the population," he stressed. The authorities hope that this solution will meet the needs of the population for fuel — this is the priority task of Uztransgaz.

According to Narmatov, in 2022 Uzbekistan reduced gas exports three times compared to 2021. One of the reasons for the decline is the construction of new power plants in the country. "The economy is developing. Accordingly, we also recalculate the volume of gas exports and imports," the head of Uztransgaz explained.

Earlier, Deputy head of the Ministry of Energy of the country Sherzod Khodjaev reported a sharp decline in exports in the cold — according to him, Uzbekistan not only practically reduced gas supplies abroad to zero, but also increased its purchases. At the same time, the agency predicted that by the end of 2022 exports will reach 3.3 billion cubic meters — the main importers of Uzbek oil are China and neighboring Central Asian states.

Earlier, Deputy Prime Minister of Uzbekistan Zhorabek Mirzamakhmudov rejected the idea of a gas union with Russia and Kazakhstan. He stressed that the gas agreement with Russia, even if it is concluded, will not receive a political dimension, and this will be one of the commercial contracts.