Uzbekistan to deepen energy sector ties with Russia’s Gazprom Neft

As it was previously reported, on July 21 President Shavkat Mirziyoyev was presented with an update on joint oil and gas projects with international partners. The president instructed officials to boost oil and gas production at existing fields.

The government of Uzbekistan has approved a roadmap for expanding cooperation with the Russian state-owned company Gazprom Neft, according to a report by Uzbekistan 24 TV channel.

“In the [oil and gas] sector, Russian company Gazprom Neft is playing an active role. On July 10, the Cabinet of Ministers approved a roadmap to expand this cooperation. It includes six focus areas – geological exploration, development of complex fields, digitalization of the sector, and training of in-demand specialists,” the report stated.

The official press release from the president’s office did not mention Gazprom Neft by name. Instead, it referred more broadly to continued cooperation “with a number of other countries.”

On May 13, Shavkat Mirziyoyev met with Alexander Dyukov, Chairman of Gazprom Neft. The two sides discussed expanding cooperation in Uzbekistan’s fuel and energy sector, particularly in the supply of oil products, development of hard-to-recover fields, and digital transformation of the industry.

On July 8, the president met again with Dyukov to review long-term plans for cooperation with the Russian company in line with the roadmap.

The two parties focused on implementing joint initiatives in geological exploration, development of technically challenging oil fields, digitalization, and workforce training.

The Cabinet of Ministers adopted the resolution just two days after the president’s meeting with Dyukov, during which the roadmap was reviewed. As of now, the corresponding resolution dated July 10 could not be found on the Lex.uz legal portal. Spot has submitted a request to the Ministry of Energy’s press service but has yet to receive a response.

On January 10, the U.S. Department of the Treasury imposed sanctions on several Russian oil and gas companies, including Gazprom Neft. Alexander Dyukov, CEO of Gazprom Neft, was also added to the sanctions list of individuals.