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Uzbekneftegaz is preparing to extend the maturity of its first eurobond issue rather than repay it outright, the state energy company’s first deputy chairman said on 27 October, adding that roughly $1 billion in high-cost loans tied to the Uzbekistan GTL plant will be refinanced within the next few months.
Suxrob Xamrayev, speaking at a press conference, said the principal on the first bond tranche falls due in 2028 and on the second in 2030. The company is weighing two paths for the 2028 maturity: repay from its own cash or roll the bonds over into a new tenor. Negotiations with creditors are expected to begin well in advance, with the explicit aim of securing terms no worse than those currently in place.
“This is not a new borrowing — no additional funds beyond these eurobonds will be raised. It is a question of extending the same amount to different maturities,” Xamrayev said, drawing a clear line between a rollover and fresh issuance.
A Widening Rate Gap
The distinction matters in part because of how sharply Uzbekneftegaz’s borrowing costs have risen. In November 2021 the company placed $700 million in eurobonds at a coupon of 4.75 percent. By May 2025, when it returned to international markets with an $850 million issue, the rate had climbed to 8.75 percent — nearly double. Any rollover of the 2028 maturity will therefore be negotiated against a backdrop of significantly higher global interest rates than prevailed when the original bonds were sold.
On 29 September Uzbekneftegaz held discussions with J.P. Morgan on options for accessing international capital markets and issuing bonds in the future, though the company said at that point it had no concrete plans for new eurobond issuance.
GTL Loans and the State Guarantee Question
Xamrayev said the company has already refinanced nearly all of its high-interest legacy debt, with one significant exception: approximately $1 billion in loans originally taken out to finance the Uzbekistan GTL gas-to-liquids plant. Those are expected to be refinanced either at the end of this year or in the first quarter of next year.
The refinancing carries a structural consequence beyond the interest rate: it would allow the state guarantee currently backing those loans to be removed. Xamrayev said lenders no longer require a government guarantee, citing growing investor confidence in the company’s financial standing and repayment capacity. Spot had previously reported that Uzbekneftegaz was seeking to refinance around $1.1 billion in loans, of which $840 million related to the GTL project.
Together, the two moves — a potential eurobond rollover and the GTL loan refinancing — represent the most consequential near-term decisions in Uzbekneftegaz’s debt management calendar, with implications both for the state budget, which currently stands behind some of that debt, and for the company’s long-term cost of capital.