A new gas field has come onstream in Uzbekistan’s Kashkadarya Region. Patron, located in Mirishkor District, has delivered an industrial gas flow after formation testing at a depth of nearly 3.3 kilometers. The well’s initial production rate is 500,000 cubic meters per day. Reserves are estimated at around 2.5 billion cubic meters — modest by Uzbekistan’s standards, but an important result as older fields continue to decline.
The connection to the national gas transmission system was confirmed by Uzbekistan’s Ministry of Energy. The first commercial gas was produced from the 3,296–3,339-meter interval. The well’s daily output is equivalent to roughly 0.18 billion cubic meters per year — a drop in the ocean compared with the country’s overall production losses, but a positive signal at a time when exploration has delivered few major discoveries.
The broader problem is that Uzbekistan is rapidly losing its position as a major gas producer. In the 1990s, the country produced around 70 billion cubic meters per year, compared with just 42.3 billion cubic meters in 2025. That represents a decline of almost 40%. Major fields in the Shurtan, Bukhara-Khiva, and Kashkadarya regions are reportedly 85–90% depleted, while exploration has yet to uncover major new reserves.
The Uzbekistan–2030 strategy has already been revised, with the target for annual gas production cut from 62 billion to 48.5 billion cubic meters. Even that level now looks ambitious given the current production trend.
The stakes are high because around 85% of Uzbekistan’s electricity is generated by gas-fired thermal power plants. Falling gas production therefore puts direct pressure on the power system. The country’s population has grown from 20 million in 1991 to 38.2 million today, while peak summer daily electricity demand has reached a record 301.9 million kilowatt-hours.
Tashkent is pursuing several solutions at once: expanding solar and wind generation, deploying energy storage, developing a nuclear power project with Rosatom, and increasing imports. But these measures will deliver results mainly over the medium and long term, while the gas shortage is already being felt.
Patron is not a solution to Uzbekistan’s gas problem, but rather evidence that exploration is still producing results. In the near term, however, Uzbekistan will likely have to rely on imported gas to get through coming winters until renewable energy and nuclear generation become more substantial parts of the power mix.
Source: TsDU TEK
Image: Uzbekistan Ministry of Energy
