Natural gas output dropped 16.4 percent in the first nine months of 2026 to 27 billion cubic metres, with Uzbekneftegaz’s chief geologist warning that more than 80 percent of reserves at major fields have been exhausted. The company’s revised full-year target falls short of both a presidential production order and the Uzbekistan–2030 strategy’s goals.
Uzbekistan’s gas import bill jumped 50 percent to $1.6 billion in the first nine months of 2026 as domestic production fell 16 percent, while gas exports dropped 34.5 percent and deliveries to China nearly halved, pushing the nine-month gas trade deficit past $1.2 billion.
