Work has begun on the completion of the accident well on M-25 in Boysun

**Work on the completion of the emergency well at the M-25 field in Baysun has begun**

Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.uz) — Practical work on the completion of the emergency well at the “Mustaqillikkin 25 yilligi” gas field located in the Baysun district of the Surkhandarya region officially began on August 15. This was announced by Uzbekneftegaz JSC.

In connection with the start of work, Abdugani Sanginov, Chairman of the Board of Uzbekneftegaz, Baysun district khokim Bakhodir Shukurov and other representatives of the local khokim visited the field. They held a meeting with activists from the village of Kofrun and specialists from the Chinese CNPC corporation, which has begun implementing the project.

During the meeting, the significance of the project and the main works that need to be carried out in stages in the coming months to complete the emergency well were explained. An open dialogue was also held with the local population.

President Shavkat Mirziyoyev announced at a meeting in February 2026 that a technical solution had been found to eliminate the accident at the M-25 mine, developed jointly with international partners. In June 2026, Sanginov announced that the full elimination of the consequences of the accident was planned for the first half of 2027.

The problems at the mine began on September 1, 2024. Then, a gas leak with a high content of hydrogen sulfide was recorded in well No. 604. According to official data, there were no casualties at that time.

On September 17, 2024, another gas leak occurred in the same well. As a result, four people died, 11 more were injured and hospitalized. Energy Minister Jurabek Mirzamahmudov later called the incident one of the six largest man-made accidents in the history of Uzbekistan. Well No. 604 was successfully closed by mid-September 2024.

However, in March and May 2025, another well of the field, No. 202, recorded two new gas outbursts with a high hydrogen sulfide content. Controlled burning was carried out to prevent the spread of gas.

The “25 Years of Independence” field, or M-25, ranks first in terms of gas reserves among the undeveloped objects in Uzbekistan. Its reserves are estimated at 150–170 billion cubic meters, most of which contain high concentrations of hydrogen sulfide.

In 2006–2008, the Malaysian company Petronas, together with Uzbekneftegaz, conducted 3D seismic exploration and drilled one well at the field's former name, the Hojak field. The project cost $102 million, but the company later withdrew from the project due to a change in investment policy and the complexity of developing the field.

In April 2017, the Uzbek government signed a 35-year production sharing agreement with a consortium of investors - Uzneftegazdobicha, Gas Project Development Central Asia and Altmax Holding, registered in Cyprus, for the further study and development of M-25.

The cost of the entire complex is estimated at $5.8 billion. Of this, $2.9 billion will be allocated to the construction of a gas and chemical complex with a gas processing capacity of 5 billion cubic meters per year. Drilling was carried out by Eriell, while Enter Engineering was responsible for the design, equipment and construction of the infrastructure.

In November 2023, President Mirziyoyev visited the complex under construction. By that time, about half of the $2.9 billion investment had been utilized, 20 wells had been drilled, 11 of which had been tested. The first stage was planned to be launched in May 2024 and reach full capacity in 2025.