Uzbekneftegaz to conduct drilling operations at 17 prospective sites in 2026

TASHKENT. July 2 (Interfax) - JSC Uzbekneftegaz plans to conduct drilling operations at 17 prospective sites in 2026, the company said in a presentation for investors on its website.

According to the presentation, the estimated prospective C3 resources at all of these sites combined is around 81.9 billion cubic meters (bcm) of natural gas.

This year, the company plans to conduct drilling operations at 10 sites in the Ustyurt region, four in the Mubarek region, two in the Shurtan region, and one in the Fergana region of Uzbekistan.

Uzbekneftegaz also said that three new gas condensate fields had been discovered in the Ustyurt region - Shagirlik, Kyzylzhar and Telegri. "The output of the new fields in the Ustyurt region is between 300,000 to 1 million bcm of gas per day," the presentation reads.

In order to increase gas production at the Kuanysh, Tyllai, Saikhun and Beskala fields in the Ustyurt region, the combined natural gas reserves of which total 33.2 bcm, there are plans to drill two new wells and carry out major repairs at one other. Natural gas production at these fields is targeted to reach 44 million cubic meters in 2026.

A detailed roadmap has also been created together with U.S. company Schlumberger, and practical work has been begun for implementing the project at 16 fields in the Ustyurt region, with combined natural gas reserves of 237.2 bcm. "Geological and geophysical data on the deposits of the Ustyurt region have been synthesized. A joint working group has been created. Drilling at 12 wells and major repairs at 11 wells have been planned. Natural gas production is planned at 5.08 bcm in 2026," the presentation says.

According to data from Uzbekneftegaz, 21 fields with 113.5 bcm of natural gas reserves have been discovered in the Gazli region. There are plans to drill nine wells here this year, and the output should thus reach 3.5 bcm.

As part of a services contract with Canada's Condor Energies, there are plans to intensify production at eight fields with natural gas reserves of 47.4 bcm in the Gazli region through the use of new technologies. The plans also include drilling 12 new wells and building three above-ground compressor stations. The fields should produce over 1.1 bcm of natural gas this year.

Plans for the Mubarek and Shurtan regions, which have natural gas reserves totaling 439 bcm, involve drilling 24 new wells and repairing 29 existing wells, building technical facilities and implementing measures to help maintain production volumes. The planned output here is 15.15 bcm this year.

As reported, Uzbekneftegaz plans to produce 25.4 bcm of natural gas in 2026, up 1.6% from 2025. The company produced around 25 bcm in 2025, up 13.6% from the previous year.

JSC Uzbekneftegaz is a multi-level vertically integrated company which unites over 50 enterprises, including 13 joint ventures and 10 core enterprises for hydrocarbon production and processing.