Uzbekistan and the World Bank Discuss a Gas Leak Reduction Project

Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.com) — A working meeting was held as part of the “Elimination of Gas Leaks in Uzbekistan” project, which is being implemented in cooperation with the World Bank.

The meeting was attended by representatives of the World Bank, the Ministry of Economy and Finance of the Republic of Uzbekistan, and Uztransgaz JSC.

Participants included Deputy Minister of Economy and Finance Umid Abidkhadjaev, World Bank Senior Gas Sector Specialist Robert van der Gest, and other responsible officials.

During the meeting, the parties discussed key institutional and financial aspects of implementing the project aimed at identifying and eliminating gas leaks at the facilities of Uztransgaz JSC.

Particular attention was paid to the distribution of roles and responsibilities between the Ministry of Economy and Finance and Uztransgaz, the planning and execution of leak detection and repair works, screening procedures, and mechanisms for allocating and utilizing grant funds.

The participants also discussed approaches to the independent verification of financial savings achieved through the reduction of gas losses, the accumulation of saved funds in a dedicated account and their subsequent reinvestment, as well as the relationship between these processes and gas tariffs.

The main objective of the project is to significantly reduce uncontrolled methane emissions and technical losses at the operating assets of Uztransgaz, while also attracting additional capital through the reinvestment of savings generated from recovered gas.

The project provides for the establishment of a Gas Leakage Financial Facility, which will be used to finance leak reduction activities at state-owned assets in the gas sector.

The facility will begin operations with a US$10 million grant from the World Bank, which the Ministry of Economy and Finance will channel toward financing repair works aimed at reducing methane emissions.

At the conclusion of the meeting, the parties agreed on further steps to prepare the key documents required for project implementation, including a grant agreement and a draft government resolution.