Page 9 - FSUOGM Week 30 2019
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FSUOGM PIPELINES & TRANSPORT FSUOGM
Uzbek gas flows to Kazakhstan come to halt
UZBEKISTAN
Much of Uzbekistan’s gas pipeline network was built 50 years ago.
UZBEKISTAN’S gas supplies to neighbour- ing Kazakhstan were restored on July 25, according to its grid operator Uztransgaz, ve days a er exports were halted because of a pipeline re.
A gas leak and subsequent re had occurred on the evening of July 20 at a section of the Gaz- li-Shymkent-Tashkent-Pungan (GSTP) pipeline in the central Bukhara region. ere were no injuries or fatalities, Uztransgaz said.
Uzbekistan exported 2.4bn cubic metres of gas to Kazakhstan in 2018, up 40% year on year, with the bulk of supplies being sent via GSTP. As of December last year, Uzbekistan has also been using the pipeline to transit 1 bcm per year of gas through Kazakhstan to the Andijan, Fer- gana and Namangan regions of its eastern Fer- gana valley.
Uzbekistan also sold 6.3 bcm of gas to China and 5.3 bcm of gas to Russia last year, according toBP,withtotalexportsclimbing18.6%y/yto14 bcm. Its output was up 6.1% at 56.6 bcm.
Despite having a comfortable gas supply
surplus, Uzbekistan routinely su ers from domes- tic shortages, in part because of the poor state of its pipeline infrastructure, much of which was built 50 years ago. Transmission losses are very high, with the Asian Development Bank (ADB) estimating that they account for 20% of total supply.
According to the bank, which is helping arrange a loan to overhaul Uzbekistan’s gas network, many compressor stations are in a state of disrepair and work at less than 35% of capacity, while most pipelines have not been tested or inspected in the past quarter of a decade.
“With the poor quality of gas transmission infrastructure, Uzbekistan is not able to capital- ise on its export potential,” the ADB says on its website.
As part of an action plan announced by Pres- ident Shavkat Mirziyoyev, Uztransgaz is set to be spun o from its parent Uzbekne egaz (UNG) and run independently. A 49% stake in the com- pany will be sold to investors by 2024, and its distribution networks will also be privatised.
Uzbekistan prepares for fuel exports to Afghanistan
UZBEKISTAN
Supplies will come from a re nery that the government has opted to privatise.
UZBEKISTAN’S Fergana oil re nery is gearing up to export motor fuels to Afghanistan starting next year, a representative of the plant told Rus- sia’s RIA Novosti on July 24.
e re nery’s operator, Trans Asia Resources, has reached an agreement with Afghan author- ities on the sale of 1mn tonnes per year (tpy) of gasoline, diesel and other petroleum products, the representative said. e deal was signed dur- ing the meeting of an Uzbek-Afghan intergov- ernmental commission in Tashkent on July 17.
Supplies should start next year, a er commer- cial contracts are nalised.
e Fergana plant is the largest of three oil re neries in Uzbekistan, with a processing capa- bility of 108,000 barrels per day (bpd). But it typ- ically operates at only a fraction of this capacity, owing to di culties obtaining oil feedstock and the need for equipment upgrades.
Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev signed a decree in April transferring operational con- trol of the facility from state-owned Uzbekne - egaz (UNG) to an Indonesian company called
Trans Asia Resources. at company is owned by Uzbek businessman Azam Aslanov.
Sources have told FSU OGM that Aslanov is currently negotiating with private oil suppliers in Kazakhstan on securing feedstock, while also holding talks with Chinese nanciers to fund modernisation work.
Kazakhstan is also targeting Afghanistan and other fuel markets for its exports, a er wrapping up work last year on an extensive modernisation programme at its three re neries. anks to the upgrades, its re neries now produce a surplus of gasoline.
Unlike Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan relies mostly on imported fuel to meet its needs, raising ques- tions about its ability to initiate exports. The country’s domestic oil production continues to decline, and Tashkent has been unable to strike deals for long-term feedstock supplies from Rus- sia, Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan. is is partly because these producers would rather sell their output in larger and higher-price markets in the West and in China.
Week 30 31•July•2019 w w w . N E W S B A S E . c o m P9
