Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.com) -- Uzbekistan began buying gas from the Russian company Gazprom in 2020. This was reported by Interfax with reference to the reports and memorandum of the new issue of Eurobonds of the Russian concern.

The agency notes that Uzbekistan has turned from a seller to a buyer of Gazprom’s gas.

In 2018, Uzbekistan sold 3.8 billion cubic meters of gas to Gazprom. In 2019, the volume of supplies reached 4.9 billion cubic meters. In 2020, Uzbekistan stopped gas supplies to the Russian company.

According to Gazprom’s reports, the Russian company did not buy gas in the first quarter of 2021 either.

At the same time, in 2020, the Russian concern began delivering Turkmen gas to Uzbekistan. In 2020, Gazprom supplied 0.9 billion cubic meters of gas to Uzbekistan and in the first quarter of 2021 - 1.5 billion cubic meters.

It is noteworthy that in the first quarter of 2021, Uzbekistan bought three times more gas from Gazprom / Turkmenistan than it could export to China (0.54 billion cubic meters).

“The Central Asian countries are developing very rapidly now. First of all, this concerns Uzbekistan. And we are seeing a big increase in consumption in this country. Therefore, of course, to one degree or another, gas purchases are reduced, because the state directs gas for its own needs, if we are talking about Uzbekistan,” commented on the situation with Uzbek gas in May, Deputy Chairman of the Board of Gazprom, General Director of Gazprom Export Elena Burmistrova.