Natural gas production in Uzbekistan decreased by 1.6% to 59.46 billion cubic meters (bcm) in 2019 compared to the previous year, the State Statistical Committee said on Friday.
Uzbekistan supplied 45 bcm of gas to its domestic market in 2019, exported 10 bcm of its total production to China, and 4 bcm to Russia, according to data of the national oil gas company Uzbekneftegas.
The data also shows that 60.4 bcm of natural gas was produced in 2018 in the country from which 13 bcm was exported to neighboring countries, primarily China and Russia.
The average annual gas production in Uzbekistan is around 60 bcm, which makes the country one of the biggest gas producers in the world.
The country, which holds an estimated 1.1 trillion cubic meters of gas reserves, also serves as a transit country for natural gas flowing from Turkmenistan to Russia and China.
The Central Asian country expects to increase gas production to the level of around 66 billion cubic meters per year in 2020.
Reporting by Bahtiyar Abdulkerimov in Tashkent
Writing by Busranur Begcecanli
Anadolu Agency
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