Uzbekneftegaz aims to restore daily gas output to 65 million cubic meters by year-end

Uzbekneftegaz plans to bring daily gas production back to 65 million cubic meters by the end of the year

The company’s chief geologist, Nodir Mukhiddinov, described the situation at a press conference on October 27.

In January–September 2026, Uzbekneftegaz and its subsidiaries produced about 17 billion cubic meters of gas. For the full year, the company expects output of 22.8 billion cubic meters, compared with 25.2 billion cubic meters in 2025. If this forecast is achieved, annual production will be down by roughly 9.5%.

Mukhiddinov said the main reason for the drop is the depletion of reserves at major gas fields, where more than 80% of recoverable reserves have already been extracted. Output at these fields continues to decline, while new exploration and wells put into operation have not yet compensated for the losses.

“Currently, the additional production from new exploration and newly discovered wells at new fields does not fully offset this decline,” the chief geologist said.

At the start of the year, Uzbekneftegaz was producing 65 million cubic meters of gas per day. Since then, baseline production has fallen by 12.6 million cubic meters per day, and about 5 million cubic meters of that has still not been replaced.

To reduce the decline, the company has carried out major and routine repairs on 79 wells since the beginning of the year using its own funds.

Uzbekneftegaz intends to restore daily output to the level seen at the beginning of the year by December. Its plans include continuing well repairs and putting into operation facilities identified through geological exploration.

The company also plans to start wellhead compressor stations and perform complex overhauls, including drilling sidetracks in wells that have been taken out of service.