Uzbekistan Pursues Gas Investment
Uzbekistan Pursues Gas Investment
Uzbekistan’s annual oil and gas exhibition, scheduled for May 13 and 14, comes as the country seeks foreign investment to boost hydrocarbons production.
The event’s sponsor, the national oil and gas firm Uzbekneftegas, is expecting 250 companies to attend from 20 countries including Russia, the United Kingdom, the United States and Germany.
Uzbekistan is keen to attract a wide range of investors, as it is planning to increase natural gas production from the current 60 billion cubic meters a year to 65 billion by 2010. NBCentralAsia analysts say this will only be possible if additional foreign investment worth at least three billion US dollars is secured.
When new gas deposits on the Ustyurt plateau of northern Uzbekistan, currently under development with foreign funding, come on stream, the country could up its exports.
At the moment, Moscow is the major foreign player in the Uzbek gas market, and the Russian firm Gazprom controls the sole export route, the Soviet-era gas Central Asia-Centre pipeline.
The event’s sponsor, the national oil and gas firm Uzbekneftegas, is expecting 250 companies to attend from 20 countries including Russia, the United Kingdom, the United States and Germany.
Uzbekistan is keen to attract a wide range of investors, as it is planning to increase natural gas production from the current 60 billion cubic meters a year to 65 billion by 2010. NBCentralAsia analysts say this will only be possible if additional foreign investment worth at least three billion US dollars is secured.
When new gas deposits on the Ustyurt plateau of northern Uzbekistan, currently under development with foreign funding, come on stream, the country could up its exports.
At the moment, Moscow is the major foreign player in the Uzbek gas market, and the Russian firm Gazprom controls the sole export route, the Soviet-era gas Central Asia-Centre pipeline.
