Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan will discuss the launch of Northern Sokh gas storage facility. The President of the Republic of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev said during a meeting in Andijan, UZA news agency reports.

According to the head of the Republic of Uzbekistan, it is closed for some reason. But the issue was agreed upon with the President Sadyr Japarov during Shavkat Mirziyoyev’s state visit to Kyrgyzstan. «In the near future, our Energy Minister will travel to Kyrgyzstan and agree on technical issues,» the head of Uzbekistan said.

Minister of Energy of the neighboring republic Zhurabek Mirzamakhmudov noted that the volume of underground gas storage is approximately 2.5-3 billion cubic meters.

Of these, 1.3 billion cubic meters of gas can be used, the rest is in the buffer zone. This means that in winter the country will be able to supply 13 million cubic meters of gas to the valley every day. The main part of the gas storage is located in Kyrgyzstan, and the compressors are in Uzbekistan. Negotiations are underway on the common use of the facility.

It is assumed that, first of all, the working group will study in detail all the technical and economic aspects. Mirzamakhmudov added that it was also possible to use the gas storage on a leasehold basis.

It should be noted that since the opening of Northern Sokh underground gas storage and the gas and oil field, an Uzbek company has been developing it.

On May 13, 2011, the deputies by a decree banned the transportation of fuel and lubricants to Uzbekistan and transferred the enterprise to Kyrgyzneftegaz. But until now, the field was guarded by the Uzbek military.