Uzbekistan says it secures commercial flow at new natural gas well

TASHKENT, Oct 13 (Reuters) — Uzbekistan's state-owned oil and gas company Uzbekneftegaz has obtained a commercial flow of natural gas from a new well at the Garbiy Kuyi Surgil gas condensate field in the country's west, the company said on Tuesday. The well is producing 400,000-500,000 cubic metres of gas per day, according to Uzbekneftegaz. It is the fifth well at the field, located on the Ustyurt plateau, to yield a commercial gas flow. Uzbekneftegaz estimates the field's initial hydrocarbon reserves at 7.5 billion cubic metres of natural gas and 265,000 metric tons of gas condensate. The company has been developing the field since 2021 as part of efforts to increase domestic gas production. Natural gas production fell 16% year-on-year in the first half of 2026 to 18.3 billion cubic metres. Once a major gas exporter, Uzbekistan has increasingly turned to imports from Russia and neighbouring Turkmenistan to help meet domestic demand as production has declined and consumption has grown. (Reporting by Muhammadsharif Mamatkulov, Writing by Felix Light)