In the wave of profound adjustments in the global energy landscape and technological changes in the oil and gas industry, Uzbekistan's national oil and gas company Uzbekneftegaz is standing at a critical crossroads of transformation and upgrading. Faced with the bottleneck of reserve growth under complex geological conditions and the problem of stable production in old oil fields, this Central Asian energy giant has not slowed down its pace due to the tightening of global capital. Instead, it has chosen to take the initiative and focus its attention on "Chinese intelligent manufacturing", which has the advantage of the entire industry chain.

Recently, Uzbekneftegaz formed a special working group to travel across mountains and seas to China for inspection. This is not only a simple equipment procurement journey, but also a strategic "learning experience" aimed at reshaping the logic of upstream exploration and development by introducing advanced Chinese equipment and digital technology. It injects strong Eastern momentum into expanding drilling operations and improving resource development efficiency nationwide by 2024.

Lock in high-end drilling rigs' Made in China '

The inspection team's footprint covers important energy equipment manufacturing bases in China. At Baoji Petroleum Machinery Co., Ltd., the delegation not only systematically reviewed the production capacity and quality control system of the drilling platform, but also conducted a deep evaluation of its innovative technology solutions adapted to the complex geology of Central Asia; At RJ Petroleum Machinery Company, the focus was on the inspection of drilling equipment, auxiliary devices, and full lifecycle operation and maintenance support capabilities. The precise point-to-point docking this time aims to shorten the well completion cycle and solve the problem of difficulty in stabilizing production in the old oil fields of Wuguo. In addition, the delegation also made a special trip to Xi'an to investigate geophysical exploration technologies suitable for extreme temperature and pressure conditions, and showed a strong interest in digital manufacturing and automated detection systems, intending to reconstruct the exploration process through digital means.

Exploring new potential for unconventional mining

The breadth of technological cooperation is extending from traditional equipment to the fields of intelligent manufacturing and new materials. Uzbekneftegaz focuses on the manufacturing solution of piezoelectric sensors based on metal powder 3D printing. This technology not only enables in-situ repair of damaged components, but also optimizes sensing performance, greatly reducing the cost of deep well operations. At the same time, automatic defect detection systems based on scanning analysis have also been included in the introduction list to enhance the safety redundancy of drilling tools. On the equipment side, the company had substantive exchanges with ROSO Group, which was established in 2014. As a comprehensive enterprise with 10 subsidiaries, 4 factories, and approximately 220 professional talents, ROSO Group has core technologies in key equipment such as multiphase flow units, and its products cover onshore, offshore, and unconventional mining fields. Both parties have reached further consensus on technical parameters and commercial proposals, and are expected to engage in in-depth cooperation in unconventional oil and gas development in Ukraine in the future. Keywords: Uzbekistan, oil exploration, oil and gas development

This intensive technology "learning from China" marks Uzbekneftegaz's transformation from a simple equipment procurement to a full industry chain cooperation model of "technology+service+manufacturing", injecting new variables into the technological upgrading of the Central Asian energy market.Editor/Cheng Liting