Uzbekistan resumes gas supplies to the South of Kazakhstan

Uzbekistan has resumed gas supplies to the South of Kazakhstan, Tengrinews.kz reports, citing Press Service of KazTransGas Aimak, Kazakhstan’s internal gas supplies operator. The Company’s Press Service reported that February 4, 2014 at 7:25 Astana time Uzbekistan suspended gas supplies to Kazakhstan. However, at 12:00 Astana time the gas supply was resumed. “Currently the pipeline is shipping 100 000 cubic meters an hour. The volume is being increased by 20 000 cubic meters every two hours”, the Press Service informed. “It was a partial restriction, rather than an actual turn-off (…) Shymkent-based thermal power plant and Zhambyl-based hydro power plant faced limited supplies, with the volume 20-30% lower than usual”, the Company’s spokesman said, adding that they had to limit the gas supplies over a gas pipeline fault caused by severe frosts in Uzbekistan. Uzbekistan has cut gas supplies to South Kazakhstan Oblast, leaving many Kazakhstan residents without gas for cooking and heating, Tengrinews reported February 4. The normal gas supply rate is 430 thousand cubic meters per hour, while the cuts reduced it to 120 thousand cubic meters per hour in the region. According to Lesbek Serikbayev, Deputy Head of the Energy Department of the Housing and Public Utilities Administration of South Kazakhstan Oblast, the reduction caused a drop of pressure in the gas pipes cutting off several thousand residents of Shymkent, the largest citing in southern Kazakhstan.