Uzbekistan to sell energy stake

Tashkent: Energy-rich Uzbekistan has announced it plans to sell off a stake in its state energy company as the Central Asian country seeks to attract foreign investment in a sector long shrouded in secrecy.Uzbekistan´s energy ministry in a statement that the state energy company Uzbekneftegaz was looking to sell off "up to 49 percent of shares" by 2024 as part of restructuring ordered by President Shavkat Mirziyoyev.

The president is looking to break out from the economic straitjacket imposed by his hardline predecessor Islam Karimov and encourage more foreign investment and trade.

"Measures are to be taken to attract investment in Uzbekneftegaz by primary and secondary public placement of up to 49 percent of shares not later than 2024," the statement said.

The restructuring will also see the company that runs transportation of oil and gas, Uztranzgas, split off from Uzbekneftegaz.

The energy ministry said the restructure was necessary "to satisfy domestic and international energy needs" and "attract investments and bring Uzbekneftegaz closer to capital markets."

Uzbekneftegaz on Friday revealed for the first time data on natural gas production in the country, which kept important economic data confidential under the late Karimov, who took power before the country´s independence from the USSR and died in 2016.

Chairman Bahodirjon Sidikov was quoted as saying that the company extracted 35 to 40 billion cubic metres of natural gas annually while foreign companies extracted the remainder of the total of 61 billion cubic metres.

Uzbekistan´s current proven hydrocarbon reserves are sufficient for the next 20 to 30 years, he said. The country has some 1.1 trillion cubic metres of proven natural gas reserves.