Russia’s oil major Lukoil has revised up its plan for natural gas production in Uzbekistan, and now expects to reach an annual peak output of 12 billion cubic meters by 2012-2013, Lukoil Overseas, the company’s international projects arm, said Monday.

Lukoil, which is developing the Kandym-Khauzak-Shady-Kungrad project in Uzbekistan, previously expected to produce up to 10 Billion cubic meters/year starting from 2011.

The company expects to start gas production from Kandym, the largest field in the group, by the end of this year.

Gas output will amount to 3 billion cubic meters/year in 2008 and will be gradually raised to 12 Billion cubic meters/year after the Kadym gas processing unit is built by 2012-2013, Lukoil Overseas said.

All the gas produced within the project will be exported via Gazprom’s pipeline network, Lukoil Overseas said.

At the same time, crude oil and gas condensate will initially be sold in Uzbekistan’s domestic market, the company said. In the middle-term, Lukoil plans to refine crude and condensate at Uzbekistan refineries, and to market the refined oil products both in Uzbekistan and abroad.

Lukoil has not revealed the forecast on crude and condensate output from the project. "The volumes will be non-significant," a spokesman with Lukoil Overseas said.

Lukoil is developing the project under a 35-year production-sharing agreement signed in June 2004.

The project’s total reserves are estimated at 329 billion cubic meters of gas. The cumulative gas production under the project is expected to reach 207 billion cubic meters.

Lukoil Overseas, which holds a 90% stake in the project, and Uzbekistan’s state-owned Uzbekneftegaz (10%), have invested US$100 million in the project as of early July. Total investment in the projects is estimated at US$1 billion.