Uzbekneftegaz has reported accidents at some of its production facilities that have reduced the country's output of natural gas, gas condensate and liquefied gas. The state oil and gas company's press service disclosed the setbacks following a working meeting chaired by board chairman Abdugani Sanginov.
The meeting reviewed the status of wells scheduled for launch in August, the performance of compressor stations, power supply, geological exploration and production infrastructure.
According to the company, 11 wells were planned for commissioning between August 1 and 24. Drilling was completed on eight of them, and seven have been brought online, unlocking the potential for an additional 1.7 million cubic meters of gas per day. However, one well failed to produce a commercial gas flow, the launch of another has been pushed back to early September, and drilling continues at three more.
The company said it is tracking the full cycle for each well individually — from the completion of drilling to the commissioning date and the expected volume of additional gas.
Uzbekneftegaz also reported on the results of major well workovers. All eight wells slated for relaunch after workover between August 1 and 24 achieved commercial gas flow. Rather than the planned 235,000 cubic meters in additional output, the company secured 310,000 cubic meters.
Between August 21 and 31, the company plans to bring another 11 wells online, adding a further 340,000 cubic meters of gas. Officials at the meeting noted that completing drilling alone should not cause delays in bringing wells online — pipelines, processing equipment, compressor stations and power supply systems must all be ready in parallel.
Technical accidents and their impact on output were a central focus of the meeting. Uzbekneftegaz said accidents were "practically not recorded" in August at facilities run by the Gazli and Shurtan oil and gas production departments, which the company attributed to maintenance work on processing equipment, power supply systems, and monitoring and control instrumentation.
Other production departments, however, experienced accidents that reduced output of natural gas, gas condensate and liquefied gas. The company did not disclose specific loss figures.
Sanginov said the priority should be preventing accidents rather than responding to their aftermath. Officials have been instructed to sharply cut the number of accidents next month and to complete preventive maintenance and repair work before the onset of cold weather. He noted that measures to offset the natural decline in production have allowed the company to capture additional gas volumes and post output growth, but that accidents at production facilities continue to undercut those gains.
Uzbekistan's natural gas and gas condensate output continues to decline overall. According to the State Statistics Committee, the country produced 18.3 billion cubic meters (BCM) of gas in January-June 2026 — down 16%, or nearly 3.5 BCM, from the same period a year earlier.
Production fell 26.8% year-on-year in June alone, to 2.5 BCM. Average daily output dropped to 83.3 million cubic meters, the lowest level recorded since at least early 2022. Gas condensate production fell 19.6% in the first half of the year, to 462,100 tons, and dropped 24% in June alone, to 70,400 tons.
At an August 11 meeting, Uzbekistan's president instructed Uzbekneftegaz to ensure it meets its oil and gas production targets. In August, the company plans to commission 27 wells and add 887,000 cubic meters of gas per day across five fields — equivalent to 1% of the combined average daily output of all companies in June.
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