DUSHANBE, January 4, 2012, Asia-Plus  -- Uzbekistan’s decision to ban the road transportation of liquefied natural gas (LNG) through its territory will not affect Tajikistan’s fuel market, an official source at closed joint-stock company (CJSC) Faroz, which is one of the main suppliers of liquefied natural gas to Tajikistan, told Asia-Plus in an interview.

“This decision cannot affect the volumes of our LNG shipments because we deliver liquefied natural gas to Tajikistan by rail cars,” the source noted.

According to unconfirmed data, limited liability companies Tojiron and Zet-Gaz, which are also Tajikistan’s largest LNG suppliers, also deliver liquefied natural gas to Tajikistan by rail cars.  Asia-Plus has still failed to take comments from representatives of these companies.

Meanwhile, one of individual entrepreneurs, who wanted to remain unnamed, said that he is engaged in delivery of liquefied natural gas to Tajikistan by tank trucks.  “Like other individual entrepreneurs, I deliver fuels liquefied natural gas from Kazakhstan through territory of Kyrgyzstan,” said he.  “We deliver LNG by tank trucks because the volumes are not so large.”

He further added that it was more profitable to deliver Kazakh liquefied natural gas to Tajikistan through Kyrgyz territory than through Uzbekistan.  “I think the ban will not affect Tajikistan,” the entrepreneur said.

We will recall Uzbekistan has banned the road transportation of liquefied natural gas through its territory, a decision the Uzbek authorities say is intended to protect public safety and the environment.  The ban reportedly took effect on January 1, 2013.

Some 40 percent of vehicles in Tajikistan, primarily in the northern Sughd province, reportedly run on liquefied natural gas.  Kazakhstan now provides the bulk of Tajikistan’s liquefied natural gas imports.

Over the last year, the number of liquefied natural gas (LNG) refueling stations in the country has reportedly been increased from 510 to 526.  Sughd province alone now has 230 LNG refueling stations.

The main suppliers of liquefied gas to Tajikistan are Zet-Gaz, Muhammad Poulod (Sughd province), Gazpormneft-Tajikistan, Faroz, and Tojiron

According to data of the Ministry of Energy and Industries (MoEI), some 74,000 tons of liquefied natural gas were delivered to Tajikistan in January-November 2012, which is nearly 30,000 more than in the same period of 2011.