TASHKENT (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 11th April, 2023) Gas workers have started the restoration of an underground gas storage (UGS) in the Uzbek enclave So'x in Kyrgyzstan for its joint use, Uzbek energy company Uztransgaz said on Tuesday.
During the visit of Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev to Kyrgyzstan in February, the energy ministries of the two countries signed a roadmap to prepare the restoration project of the Northern So'x UGS for its joint use.
"The Uzbek side has formed a working group, which visited the Kadamjay district of Kyrgyzstan on April 10 to study issues within the framework of research on the project," the company said on Telegram.
Uztransgaz's experts developed a technical task for field studies of gas wells of the Northern So'x UGS, and their preliminary examination has already been carried out, the company added.
Uzbekistan estimates the volume of UGS, which has not been used for years, at up to 3 billion cubic meters, of which it hopes to take up to 1.3 billion cubic meters during winter. So'x and its gas fields became a subject of a dispute between Tashkent and Bishkek after the collapse of the Soviet Union. The main part of the gas storage is located in Kyrgyzstan, while its compressors are in Uzbekistan.
In January, Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan experienced abnormally cold winter, with the temperature falling below zero. Kyrgyzstan announced the temporary introduction of rolling blackouts to avoid accidents in the power grid. Uzbekistan, in turn, suspended gas supplies to all wholesalers, and Uztransgaz announced a complete cessation of gas exports due to increased domestic consumption.
