Uzbekistan has reportedly begun supplying natural gas to Tajikistan after six-year interruption.

“Uzbekistan began supplying natural gas to Tajikistan at the end of last week at the rate of 1000 cubic meters per hour,” an official source at Open Joint-Stock Company (OJSC) Tojiktransgaz (Tajik state-run natural gas distributor) told Asia-Plus in an interview. 

He, however, refrained from naming the price for Uzbek natural gas.

Meanwhile, as it had reported earlier, Tajikistan this year is reportedly expected to receive 126 million cubic meters of Uzbek gas at 120 U.S. dollars per 1000 cubic meters.  

According to the website of Uzbekistan-24 TV Channel, Uzbek natural gas will be supplied, first of all, to Tajikistan’s districts bordering Uzbekistan.  

Recall, the contract on the delivery of Uzbek natural gas to Tajikistan was signed between Open Joint-Stock Company (OJSC) Tojiktransgaz (Tajik state-run natural gas distributor) and Uzbekneftegaz Holding (Uzbek state-owned holding company of Uzbekistan's oil and gas industry) in Dushanbe on March 9 during Uzbek president’s state visit to Tajikistan.

Uzbekistan is expected to supply some 126 million cubic meters of natural gas worth 15.1 million U.S. dollars to Tajikistan during this year.   

According to Tajik state-run natural gas distributor, Uzbekistan is ready to increase gas deliveries, if need be.

A preliminary agreement for gas deliveries was reached during talks that took place in the Uzbek capital, Tashkent, in early November last year.    

Uzbekistan stopped gas deliveries via pipeline to Tajikistan on December 31, 2012 after both sides failed to agree on gas prices following the expiration of their contract.

Uzbekistan, Tajikistan’s only supplier of gas, routinely suspended gas deliveries to its neighbor amid complaints of nonpayment.

Uzbek natural gas prices varied quarterly depending on the world trends and Tajikistan had to make prepayments every ten days.

In 2010, an average price of 1,000 cubic meters of Uzbek natural gas for Tajikistan was US$240.00; in the first quarter of 2010, the price of 1,000 cubic meters of Uzbek gas was US$231.00 and in the fourth quarter, it rose to US$254.00.

In the first quarter of 2011, Tajikistan was buying natural gas from Uzbekistan for US$227.85 per 1,000 cubic meters, while the price for the second quarter was US$249.19 per 1,000 cubic meters.  In the third quarter, Tajikistan was buying natural gas from Uzbekistan for US$284.33 per 1,000 cubic meters and the price for the fourth quarter was US$311.00.

In 2012, an average price for 1,000 cubic meters of Uzbek gas in Tajikistan was 300.00 U.S. dollars.  In 2012, Tajikistan received 132.4 million cubic meters of natural gas from Uzbekistan, 46.6 million cubic meters fewer than in 2011.

Signs of a thaw in relations between Tajikistan and Uzbekistan emerged in September 2016.  In the years since independence, bilateral relations have been plagued by mistrust, disputes over water resources and outright hostility. Both sides have adopted a series of punitive measures against each other.  President Shavkat Mirziyoyev has expressed interest in “resetting” relations with Tajikistan.