Russia, Uzbekistan Conclude Discussion on Oil Supply Agreement

Russia and Uzbekistan are working on an intergovernmental agreement on the supply of Russian oil to the Republic, Russian Energy Minister Alexander Novak said.

"At the final stage, there will be a discussion of international agreements about oil supplies to Uzbekistan," he said, speaking at the launch ceremony of the Kandym gas complex.

Earlier, the Deputy Minister of Energy of the Russian Federation, Kirill Molodtsov, reported that Gazprom Neft is exploring the possibility of supplying up to 1 million tons of oil to Uzbekistan in 2019, with the exact amount dependant on the capacity of the transport system.

Uzbekistan has ambitions to receive up to 3 million tons of oil from Russia from 2020. Increasing the supply will require the construction of a pipeline and two pumping stations worth 5 billion Rubles ($80 million) each.

Deputy Minister of Energy of the Russian Federation, Anatoly Yanovsky, said that negotiations are at the initial stage. “At present, we can talk about additional supplies of 5 million tons of oil,” he said, noting that they can be carried out both from the territory of Russia and from Kazakhstan.

The official representative of Transneft, Igor Demin said that the plan of oil deliveries to Uzbekistan for December is 50 thousand tons, and in November it is planned to pump up to 30 thousand tons.

Oil supplies to Uzbekistan were begun in November last year, in accordance with the framework agreement of September 16, 2017 between the governments of Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan on energy. The Russian oil is delivered through the main oil pipeline "Kaztransoil " on the route Omsk-Pavlodar-Shymkent overpass via the Shagyr oil loading point.

General Director of Kaztransoil, Dimash Dosanov, agreed with Demin's statement and confirmed that, according to schedules of oil deliveries, in November the volume of transit will be 30 thousand tons. By the end of 2018, he said, it is planned to bring up to 80 thousand tons of raw material into Uzbekistan.

By Dimitri Dolaberidze