- 4
- 04.07.2023 07:45:00
- 5 min read
In May, Uzbekistan produced 3 times less gasoline than in January, and 2 times less than in May last year. According to Uzbekneftegaz, this is due to planned repairs at the Bukhara refinery. At the same time, imports of petroleum products from abroad increased by 76%.
Gasoline production in Uzbekistan continues to decline monthly since the beginning of the year. In May, the decline accelerated.
According to Statistics agencies, in January-May, 550,8 thousand tons of gasoline were produced in the country. This is 16% more than in the corresponding period last year, but production is declining from month to month. In May, gasoline was produced 3 times less than in January, and 2 times less than in May last year.
According to the agency's previous reports, 139.6 thousand tons of gasoline were produced in January, 124.3 thousand in February, 121.4 thousand in March, 119.3 thousand in April, and 46.2 thousand tons in May.
At the same time, there was no significant change in the rate of oil production. In January-May 2023, 327.6 thousand tons of oil were produced - 3.1% more than in the same period last year. Of these, 69.1 thousand tons fall in the month of May; this is almost equal to the indicator of May 2022 (70 thousand tons).
At the same time, the volume of diesel fuel production has increased significantly. In the first five months of the year, 504.3 thousand tons of diesel fuel were produced, which is 2.2 times more than in the corresponding period last year. In particular, the volume of production in January 2023 was 50.5 thousand tons, and by May this figure reached 173.9 thousand tons.
Official statistics also show that Uzbekistan has increased exports of oil and petroleum products. In the first five months of 2023, the export of oil and petroleum products abroad increased 2.1 times and amounted to $ 91.5 million.
Against the background of an increase in oil exports, it is noteworthy that oil imports have also increased. In January-May 2023, the import of oil and petroleum products of Uzbekistan increased by 76.2% and reached 852.4 million dollars. Of these, $ 230.7 million fell in the month of May, when gasoline production sharply decreased.
Comment by Uzbekneftegaz
According to the press service of Uzbekneftegaz, the decrease in gasoline production in May is due to planned repair work at the Bukhara refinery.
It is reported that in May 2023, gasoline production at enterprises owned by Uzbekneftegaz JSC amounted to 23.2 thousand tons. This figure is 51.2 thousand tons less than in May 2022. The reason for this was the modernization and scheduled repair work at the Bukhara refinery in the period from May 10 to June 10, 2023, the company said in a statement.
It is noted that the overhaul at the Bukhara refinery was last carried out in 2018.
In accordance with the requirements of the "Regulations on the Procedure for Conducting an Industrial Safety Examination and Issuing an Expert Opinion", approved by Cabinet of Ministers Resolution No. 784 of October 2, 2018, an industrial safety examination of technological devices with a service life of more than 20 years is provided for at hazardous production facilities.
In addition, licenses are recommended to carry out maintenance once a year and major repairs once every 5 years.
"In order to ensure compliance with the requirements established by law, the plant's pressurized tanks were fully subjected to an industrial safety examination, and the automatic process control system was upgraded.
Uzbekneftegaz JSC has created reserves in the necessary quantities in all regions of the republic in order to provide consumers with gasoline without interruption during the repair of the plant.
It should be noted that in order to prevent interruptions in the supply of petroleum products to consumers of the republic and to prevent the emergence of excessive demand in the domestic market, the plant began work 10 days before the deadline, and the production capacity for the production of gasoline increased to 140%.
In total, 659.6 thousand tons of liquid hydrocarbon raw materials were processed at the enterprises of Uzbekneftegaz JSC in January-May 2023, and this figure was 103% compared to the corresponding period of 2022.
During this period, 410.5 thousand tons of petroleum products were produced (of which January 105.9 thousand tons, February 92.6 thousand tons, March 94.7 thousand tons, April 94.1 thousand tons, May 23.2 thousand tons), the plan was fulfilled by 103 percent or 10.6 thousand tons more.
Based on analytical calculations, the possibilities of increasing gasoline production at the Bukhara refinery are effectively used. As a result, today the daily volume of gasoline production has increased from 2500 tons to 3000 tons." This is stated in the message of Uzbekneftegaz.
It is noted that, despite the overhaul, by the end of this year, Uzbekneftegaz JSC is expected to produce a total of 995.8 thousand tons of gasoline (100% compared to 2022).
