Uzbekistan almost quadruples imports of Russian oil

Uzbekistan has increased purchases of Russian oil in transit through Kazakhstan by almost four times, TASS has reported with reference to the press service of Kaztransoil.

Some 10,700 tonnes of oil were shipped from Russia to Uzbekistan through Kazakh territory in 1Q23. In 2Q23, the volume of Russian oil transported by Kaztransoil went up almost fourfold to 37,900 tonnes.

The Kazakh company stressed that oil transportation was carried out in accordance with the delivery schedule approved by the Ministry of Energy of Kazakhstan.

The pumping of Russian oil to Uzbekistan through the Kaztransoil oil trunk pipeline system began six years ago. In 2017, transit amounted to 67,900 tonnes and in 2018 to 36,000 tonnes. Deliveries were suspended between 2019 and 2022.

Last December, Uzbekneftegaz and Kazmunaygas agreed to transit 300,000 tonnes of Russian oil for $9mn. The bulk of this volume was planned to be transported through Kaztransoil pipelines to the Shagyr station, and then in railway tankers.