China purchased $404 million worth of natural gas from Uzbekistan in January-June, TASS reports with reference to the Chinese customs service.

In monetary terms, the export of gas in this direction increased by 2.2 times compared to the first half of 2021. The physical volume of deliveries is not specified.

Uzbekistan is among the top five pipeline gas suppliers to China. Turkmenistan remains the leader here by a wide margin, delivering gas for $4.51 billion in six months, which is 1.5 times more than in the same period of the previous year.

The second place is occupied by Russia, which almost tripled its sales to $1.65 billion. Myanmar is on the third line with $616 million, and Kazakhstan is on the fourth with $531 million.

According to the State Statistics Committee, over the five months since the beginning of the year, Uzbekistan has exported gas worth $352 million, which is 2.5 times more than last year. Blue fuel provided approximately 4.2% of the country’s export earnings.

At the same time, since 2020, the republic has been a net importer of gas, and later even canceled the excise tax on gas to simplify imports.

Deputy Energy Minister Azim Akhmedkhodzhaev announced plans to increase gas production by 20%. However, it will be used domestically, both to meet domestic demand and to produce high value-added products.

According to the head of Uztransgaz, Bekhzod Normatov, exports to China amount to 10% of the volume of gas production. Deliveries abroad may stop in 2025-2026, he added.