Uzbekistan's energy resources
Uzbekistan, a landlocked nation in Central Asia, is endowed with significant energy resources, particularly oil, natural gas, and uranium. Following its independence from the Soviet Union in 1991, Uzbekistan has been working to revitalize its energy sector and reduce reliance on agriculture, which historically dominated its economy. The country boasts substantial natural gas reserves, estimated at 1.841 trillion cubic meters, and has seen a steady increase in production, reaching 47.5 billion cubic meters in 2022. Despite a decline in oil production, which fell to 64,000 barrels per day in 2023, Uzbekistan remains focused on diversifying its energy portfolio.
Electricity generation is heavily reliant on natural gas, contributing about 86% to the energy mix, though coal-fired plants are being prioritized for future development. Renewable energy sources, including hydroelectric power and potential solar energy, are beginning to gain attention, but investments in these areas remain limited. Additionally, Uzbekistan has a rich uranium production history and ranks as one of the top uranium producers globally. As the country seeks to modernize its aging energy infrastructure and attract foreign investment, its energy resources hold promise for substantial regional influence and economic growth.
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Uzbekistan's energy resources
Official Name: Republic of Uzbekistan.
Summary: The central Asian nation of Uzbekistan is a former Soviet satellite nation that gained its independence in 1991. Rich in oil, natural gas, and uranium, the country is striving to overcome a neglected infrastructure.
Uzbekistan is a landlocked central Asian country with an area of 164,000 square miles and a population of over 36 million as of 2024. It stretches from the Aral Sea to the mountains of northeastern Afghanistan. Other neighboring states are Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and Turkmenistan. It became a Soviet Republic in 1924; during Soviet rule, its natural resources were exploited with intensive agriculture, including substantial overuse of fertilizers, pesticides, and irrigation, leaving behind chemical pollution and a general depletion of water resources, especially in the Aral Sea basin.
Uzbekistan became an independent state in the post-Soviet Union era; since 1991, the country’s government has shifted to developing mineral reserves, including petroleum, natural gas, and gold, as an alternative to forced agriculture (Uzbekistan’s cotton production has fallen dramatically). Warming business relations with other countries gradually helped to encourage greater foreign investment in Uzbekistan's energy sectors. Some of the most important global contributors include the China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC), Petronas, and Lukoil.
Fossil Fuels
Oil production in Uzbekistan declined to under 60,000 barrels per day (bpd) in 2010, less than half the typical volume in the 1995–2005 period. A deteriorating infrastructure and a lack of foreign investment were identified as the key factors in the decline. Petroleum consumption in 2008 was 143,000 bpd, tailing off to 140,000 bpd in 2009; it reached 91,000 bpd in 2022. Petroleum production in Uzbekistan declined over time as well. In 2023, total petroleum production dropped to 64,000 bpd.
Natural gas is more of a success story for Uzbekistan, with a steady production increase over the years that reached 47.5 billion cubic meters in 2022. In the same year, the country consumed 43.227 billion cubic meters of natural gas. As of 2021, Uzbekistan was estimated to have 1.841 trillion cubic meters of proven natural gas reserves.
Although Uzbekistan was a major coal-producing area during the Soviet era, coal production and consumption dropped sharply following independence. In 2022, production was 5.356 million metric tons.
Uzbekistan has the potential to be a significant regional electricity producer but must contend with outdated and inefficient power generation, transmission, and distribution systems, all of which urgently need renovation and upgrades. Most electricity in the country, about 86 percent as of 2021, is produced by natural gas. The construction of coal-fired electric plants is a priority of the government as part of the long-term energy mix. Coal currently contributes only about 3 percent of electricity production in Uzbekistan. The country’s electricity consumption in 2022 was on the order of 67 billion kilowatt-hours.
Total energy consumption in 2022 ranked ninety-second in the world, at 53.528 million British thermal units (Btu). That same year, total carbon dioxide emissions from consumption of fossil fuels in Uzbekistan were 103.219 metric tons.
Renewable Sources
Hydroelectric generation has remained fairly steady in Uzbekistan for years, accounting for 0.9 percent of the country's total energy mix in 2021 and about 6.7 percent of its total installed electricity-generating capacity in 2022. Reviewing the potential of other renewables, Uzbekistan had no wind power installations as of 2024, but plans were in place to build the country's first wind power farm.
The world's sixth-largest cotton producer, Uzbekistan also produces substantial amounts of cotton cellulose waste products, up to 10 million tons annually, which are used as fuel, as is the waste from cereal production. Both could be used as input materials for renewable energy systems as well. Livestock manure has been used for years in Uzbekistan as fertilizer, in composting, and in biodigesters; biomass has traditionally been used to produce biogas as well. Uzbekistan has great potential for the production of solar electric energy, but this has yet to attract investment for development. Solar energy is primarily used to heat water. The country also has geothermal resources with temperatures in the range of 60–120 degrees Celsius, but exploitation of this resource remains in the planning stages.
Uzbekistan was an important source of uranium for the Soviet Union, producing as much as 3,800 metric tons annually in the mid-1980s. According to the World Nuclear Association, as of 2022, Uzbekistan had about 49,200 tons of known recoverable uranium. The World Nuclear Association also ranked Uzbekistan as the fifth-largest uranium-producing country in 2021.
Bibliography
Lutpullaev, S. L., and Kh. K. Zainutdinov. “On the Marketing of Solar Energy in Uzbekistan.” Applied Solar Energy 47, no. 1 (2011).
US Department of Energy. An Energy Overview of the Republic of Uzbekistan. Oak Ridge, TN: U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Scientific and Technical Information, 2003.
“Uzbekistan.” In Encyclopedia of Global Warming and Climate Change, edited by S. George Philander. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage, 2008.
"Uzbekistan." CIA World Factbook, 7 Aug. 2024, www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/uzbekistan. Accessed 12 Aug. 2024.
"Uzbekistan." International Energy Agency, 2024, www.iea.org/countries/uzbekistan. Accessed 12 Aug. 2024.
“Uzbekistan Energy Report.” Global Energy Market Research: Uzbekistan, November, 2010.