Uzbekistan Increases Coal Production but Reduces Oil and Gas Output in the First Quarter of 2025
In the first quarter of 2025, the mining industry of Uzbekistan produced goods worth 18.3 trillion Uzbek sums, accounting for 8.7 percent of the country’s total industrial production volume, according to the national statistics agency, as reported by Sputnik Uzbekistan.
The highest growth was recorded in coal production, which reached 1.2 million metric tons, representing a 25.2 percent increase compared to the same period in 2024.
However, production of other hydrocarbons showed a decline. Natural gas production totaled 11.3 billion cubic meters, a decrease of 2.8 percent compared to the first quarter of 2024. Gas condensate production amounted to 296.6 thousand metric tons, down 9.6 percent year-on-year. Crude oil production fell by 10.2 percent, totaling 160.8 thousand metric tons for the quarter.
As Neftegaz i Kapital reminds, Uzbekistan has been consistently reducing natural gas production in recent years due to the depletion of its resource base, even as domestic consumption of natural gas continues to grow alongside population and industrial expansion. For example, in 2024, Uzbekistan produced 44.6 billion cubic meters of natural gas, compared to 59.4 billion cubic meters in 2019.
To meet its growing demand, Uzbekistan now imports part of its gas supplies from the Russian Federation via Kazakhstan, as well as from Turkmenistan. At the same time, Tashkent continues to export a small volume of methane to China.
