"Uzbekneftegaz" did not receive Saneg's fields after license cancellations

"Uzbekneftegaz" Did Not Receive Saneg Fields After Cancellation of Licenses

"Uzbekneftegaz" did not receive assets or shares of Saneg after the cancellation of some of the licenses for the use of oil and gas fields.

Representatives of "Uzbekneftegaz" stated this at a press conference on October 27, responding to a question from a "Gazeta" correspondent about the future fate of the fields, the licenses for the use of which had previously been issued to the private company Sanoat Energetika Guruhi (Saneg).

The journalist recalled that in early October, the head of the State Assets Management Agency, Sokhibjon Murodov, announced the cancellation of Saneg's licenses for oil and gas fields, and asked who is now engaged in their operational and financial management.

"Saneg is a separate organization. It is not under our jurisdiction, and we have no cooperation with it in this direction. This information was not published by us. I think it would be more correct to contact the agency that made it public," replied Abrorjon Khudoyberganov, deputy head of the company for refining.

He also noted that the state-owned company did not receive assets or shares of Saneg after the announcement of the cancellation of the licenses.

"No assets or shares were transferred to us," the company representative clarified.

At the same time, "Uzbekneftegaz" did not report who is currently responsible for managing the fields for which licenses were canceled, or whether there are plans to transfer the rights to their development to other companies.

As a reminder, on October 8, Director of the State Assets Management Agency Sokhibjon Murodov announced the cancellation of licenses previously issued to Saneg for the use of oil fields.

According to him, the reason was the non-fulfillment of the permit conditions and the lack of economic development of the relevant subsoil plots.

"As far as I know, these fields were not put into circulation, and the license conditions were not met. Therefore, to date, [the licenses] have been canceled. Now the Ministry of Geology is developing measures for their effective use," Murodov stated.

The head of the agency explained that the fields themselves were not transferred into private ownership. Saneg received licenses granting the right to use the subsoil.

At the same time, Murodov did not specify exactly how many of Saneg's licenses were canceled, which fields were affected, when the relevant decisions were made, and how many subsoil plots remain in the company's use.

Saneg's official website previously indicated that the company held subsoil use rights for 103 oil and gas fields.

In 2019, more than 100 oil and gas fields were transferred from the structure of "Uzbekneftegaz" to the company Jizzakh Petroleum, later renamed Saneg, based on a classified government decree.

The transfer was linked to an oil production increase program for 2020–2030. It envisaged investments of $2.68 billion, the drilling of 800 new wells, and the overhaul of another 500.

In addition, working group documents noted that the oil production forecast for the transferred fields for 2020 was initially 421.2 thousand tons, but in the draft program it was reduced to 378.8 thousand tons.

Specialists warned that even with production growth, the achieved figures could be maintained for no more than two years.

According to Saneg's own data, in 2022 the company produced 545.4 thousand tons of oil, compared to the planned 614.7 thousand tons.

"According to the data available to us, during a certain period oil production volumes were increased, but in recent years these increased figures have begun to decline again," he noted.

At that time, Mukhiddinov also announced the creation of a special commission that was to study the situation with the transferred fields and prepare proposals on further measures.

The transaction involving the transfer of fields to Saneg is also being examined as part of a criminal case against the former chairman of the board of "Uzbekneftegaz," Bakhodirjon Sidikov, and other defendants.

According to the prosecution, 106 oil and gas fields were first transferred for temporary use without final execution of contracts, and then provision was made for their sale with installment payments over 10 years.

Investigators believe that the value of the transferred assets was undervalued by approximately 90 billion soums. In addition, due to the untimely re-registration of rights to part of the fields, "Uzbekneftegaz", as the prosecution claims, paid land taxes for Saneg in 2023–2025 amounting to approximately 10.4 billion soums.

Sidikov pleaded not guilty. He stated in court that the transfer of assets was provided for by a Cabinet of Ministers decree adopted before his appointment, and the difference in value was explained by a change in the VAT rate from 15% to 12%.

He linked the installment terms to a government decision and financial restrictions imposed by international creditors of "Uzbekneftegaz".