According to the report by the Agency of Statistics on Industrial Production, gas production in Uzbekistan in February 2024 decreased to 3.71 billion cubic meters, marking a decrease from the previous year. The annual comparison shows a 3.5% drop from February 2023, amounting to 137.5 million cubic meters, and a decrease of 284.2 million cubic meters compared to January of the current year. This decline is significant when compared to February 2019, where gas production was at 4.81 billion cubic meters.
In the same period, electricity generation in the last winter month reached 6.42 billion kWh, showing a decrease of 547.6 million kWh from February of the previous year, and 626.6 million kWh lower than the previous month. The majority of electricity in the country is produced by thermal power plants running on gas, but their share is decreasing with the introduction of new photovoltaic power stations.
Coal production saw an increase of 12.8% compared to the previous February, totaling 301.2 thousand tons. However, oil production decreased to 58 thousand tons, the lowest since February 2022. Additionally, diesel fuel production increased by 22.7 thousand tons to 72.9 thousand tons.
In 2023, gas production in Uzbekistan decreased by nearly 5 billion cubic meters, along with a reduction in oil and gas condensate output. However, coal production increased by 15.5% to 6.2 million tons, and there was also growth in electricity, gasoline, and diesel production.
Despite being a gas-rich country, Uzbekistan imported more gas than it exported last year, with a difference exceeding 165 million dollars. Factors leading to this imbalance were analyzed by "Gazeta.uz," despite investments by the largest gas producer, Uzbekneftegaz, in increasing gas production.
