The Uzbekistan government said on September 2 it has named Bekhzot Narmatov as the new chairman of the management board of Uztransgaz JSC, the state-owned gas transportation company. Narmatov has been Deputy Minister of Energy, having joined the Energy Ministry in December 2019.
Narmatov, who has been a key contributor to the Government’s drive to modernise and reform the energy sector, now takes on the task of restructuring and upgrading Uzbekistan’s pipeline network, the Uzbek Energy Ministry said.
“Our most important immediate challenges are digitalisation and conservation,” Narmatov said. “We need to increase the capacity and improve the efficiency of the existing national gas transportation network, which is the key component of the natural gas market liberalization.”
A graduate mining engineer, Narmatov earned a master’s in petroleum engineering from Texas A&M University before joining a series of companies in the Uzbekistan oil and gas industry, including Schlumberger, Harris Corp. and Core Engineering LLC.
In related news, Uzbekistan GTL LLC announced the appointment of Gareth Jones to the position of Maintenance Manager of Uzbekistan GTL effective from August 9, 2021. This follows the appointment of Marcel Krause, a Canadian citizen, to the position of the GTL Plant’s Technical Director in January this year. Jones and Krause are the first foreign specialists ever to be appointed to such positions in the energy sector of Uzbekistan, the Energy Ministry said
In his new position, Jones will provide technical and consulting support, coordinate repair, mechanical and energy services for the Plant, improve the structure and overall activities, as well as introduce up-to-date international experience in service and maintenance of the GTL Plant.
“We are very pleased to have Marcel and Gareth working with us,” Uzbekneftegaz Chairman Mehriddin Abdullayev said. “We aim to continue attracting highly qualified foreign specialists to the energy sector of Uzbekistan, as well as learning best international practices in oil and gas industry transformation,” he added.
Jones, a British citizen, has over 24 years of extensive experience in mechanics, refurbishment, maintenance and service in oil and gas refining and petrochemical industries, said he is very excited to start his term at Uzbekistan GTL. “This is one of the most exciting projects of its kind in the world today and I hope that my knowledge and experience will contribute to the success of this ambitious enterprise,” Jones said. The construction works at the GTL site are virtually completed and preparatory work for start-up and commissioning is gaining momentum.
