Gazli Gas Storage issued a statement in response to “biased and defamatory statements in the media about alleged hidden owners of the company.”
As reported earlier, the Russian-based Forus company transferred a controlling stake (60%) in the Gazli Gas Storage to Hong Kong-based Daxon Holdings, which manages the largest gas storage facility in Uzbekistan, Gazli. The publication said that there was virtually no information about Daxon Holdings on the Internet.
In August 2023, the Dossier center reported that one of the co-owners of Forus could be Ivan Egorov, a business partner of the businessman Gennady Timchenko (in March 2022, he came under EU sanctions; in the media (including Forbes) he was called “a friend of Russian president Vladimir Putin"). Journalists suggested that the gas field development project could be financed in this way: Gazli Gas Storage receives money from Forus, Forus from Egorov, and Egorov from the Vesta company, which is financed by structures close to Timchenko.
Recently, Radio Ozodlik, the Uzbek service of the Liberty Radio, with reference to corporate documents, reported that Daxon Holdings is owned by three companies: Kenfame Limited (the owner is Ivan Egorov, who allegedly transferred his share to the Uzbek businessman Bakhtiyor Fazylov), Denmount Limited (the founder is reported to be Bakhtiyor Fazylov) and Sunworth Limited (owned by Sanzhar Samiev, who worked in the Eriell of Bakhtiyor Fazylov).
In response, Gazli Gas Storage reported that a corporate restructuring was completed in October 2023, as a result of which the share previously owned by Forus was transferred to Daxon Holdings Limited, registered in Hong Kong.
“Bakhtiyor Fazylov remains the main beneficiary both before and after the restructuring. Gazli Gas Storage LLC has never belonged to persons under sanctions,” the statement said.
The decision to relocate to Hong Kong was made “due to the significant volume of business with Chinese companies,” the company added.
“Legal registration in Hong Kong will make it easier to make payments and attract additional financing and purchase equipment for further business development. In addition, the reorganization simplifies the ownership structure and makes it more transparent and acceptable for international investors and counterparties,” the statement highlighted.
Gazli Gas Storage, as the operator of the Gazli storage facility, is now working to triple the volume of gas storage - from 3 billion to 10 billion cubic meters, the company reported.
“The investments of foreign investors in the amount of $310 million have already brought results: the capacity of the gas storage facility has been increased by 50%, reaching 4.5 billion cubic meters. In the first three years, oil production exceeded the baseline plan by 25-30%, as a result of which 47 thousand tons of oil were produced, and gas production reached 550 million cubic meters, which contributes to the saturation of the domestic market of Uzbekistan. The project has also expanded employment opportunities, with more than 200 new jobs created to date, and 100 more planned,” the statement said.
The main goal of Gazli Gas Storage is to increase gas storage volumes in the underground gas storage facility of the Gazli field in conjunction with additional exploration and development of gas horizons and oil rims of the field in the Bukhara region.
The company also provided the list of senior managers: General Director - Otabek Dzhabriev, First Deputy General Director and Chief Engineer - Mahamatkhodja Saidazimov and Deputy General Director for Financial Affairs - Irina Bratukhina.
