Authorities in Uzbekistan have renewed their push to attract foreign investors and partners into its oil and gas industry, part of long-running efforts to arrest continued declines in the country's oil and gas production.

The Uzbek government had hoped to attract international majors to the Central Asian nation after it opened up both its borders and the energy industry to domestic and foreign private investment following the election of Shavkat Mirziyoyev as President in December 2016.

However, successful talks with foreign players have mostly been focussed on solar and wind projects. While the country's major oilfields are owned by domestic businessman, Bakhtiyor Fazylov, most of its gas fields have remained under the control of state owned operator Uzbekneftegaz, the country's largest gas producer.

On Tuesday, Uzbekneftegaz said that its executive board chairman Bakhodirzhon Sidikov has signed a roadmap agreement with the executive chairman of Kazakhstan’s state oil and gas holding KazMunayGaz, Askhat Khasenov, calling for the two companies to cooperate in hydrocarbon production, gas processing and the production of fuels.

Landlocked Uzbekistan remains heavily dependent upon Kazakhstan for the transit of natural gas from Russia. Deliveries started in 2023 and have continued to grow as domestic output shrank.

According to the country's statistics agency, Uzbekistan's natural and associated gas production has been declining since 2018. It produced 44.6 billion cubic metres in 2024 compared with 46.7 Bcm in 2023 and 61.6 Bcm in 2018.

Meantime, oil and condensate output last year fell by about 2% from a year earlier to around 39,000 barrels per day in 2024.

KazMunayGaz, Azerbaijan state oil and gas producer Socar, and Russian regional oil producer Tatneft in March signed joint memoranda of cooperation with Uzbekneftegaz, agreeing to assist it with introducing digital solutions and higher safety standards at its legacy gas fields in Uzbekistan.

In 2022, authorities in Tashkent promised to consider giving Socar access to prospective exploration acreage in Uzbekistan, in return for similar opportunities for Uzbek companies in Azerbaijan.

Uzbekneftegaz also said on Tuesday that it met with China National Oil and Gas Exploration and Development Company (CNODC), a foreign operations subsidiary of China National Petroleum Company, to discuss options for increasing involvement of their joint venture, New Silk Road Oil and Gas, in oil and gas exploration projects in Uzbekistan.

New Silk Road Oil and Gas was founded in 2013 during the tenure of previous Uzbek President, Saparmurat Niayzov, with the task of exploring and development three acreages in the Bukhara region of the country.