Uzbekistan gas imports increased by 30 percent in 2025
At the end of 2025, Uzbekistan increased its gas imports from Russia by 30 percent. This was reported by Zamin.uz.
According to the International Energy Agency (IEA) report, this change was carried out through the "Central Asia – Center" pipeline system, with the total volume exceeding 7 billion cubic meters. This situation is explained by the policy of diversifying energy sources amid domestic shortages.
While gas imports increased by only 5 percent in 2024, the cold seasons and increased industrial activity in 2025 required a significant expansion of import volumes. At the same time, gas production in Uzbekistan decreased: in the first 11 months of 2025, this indicator declined by 4.5 percent.
The IEA associates this with the natural depletion of fields and a decrease in well efficiency. For Russia, increasing gas exports to Central Asia has become an important strategic direction.
After transit through Ukraine stopped on January 1, 2025, Russia's gas supply to Europe decreased by 45 percent. For this reason, Russia has been observed to increase export volumes towards China and Uzbekistan.
Deliveries to China increased by 25 percent, while the Uzbekistan route ranks second in terms of growth. According to IEA forecasts, gas production in the region is expected to increase by 3 percent in 2026.
However, this figure will still be 10 percent below the 2021 level. For Uzbekistan, 2026 may be a period of adaptation to its role as a transit system and a major consumer.
Gas imports exceeding 7 billion cubic meters are now expected not only as an emergency solution but also as a stable economic need. For this reason, modernizing the "Central Asia – Center" pipelines has been identified as one of the key tasks.
It was also reported that in 2025 Uzbekistan exported natural gas worth 773 million dollars to China. Deputy Prime Minister Jamshid Khojayev criticized the Ministry of Energy for the suspension of 33 factories due to gas supply interruptions.
Problems in local packaging were also noted to have negatively affected exporters.
