ADVANCING CO₂-ENHANCED OIL RECOVERY INTO A NATIONAL CCUS FRAMEWORK FOR UZBEKISTAN: CHALLENGES, OPPORTUNITIES, AND IMPLEMENTATION PATHWAYS

Uzbekistan faces the dual challenge of meeting Paris Agreement commitments while sustaining production from aging oil fields. CO₂-enhanced oil recovery (CO₂‑EOR)—particularly Water‑Alternating‑Gas (WAG), cyclic Huff‑and‑Puff, and hybrid chemical‑assisted flooding—offers a pathway to increase oil recovery and permanently store CO₂. This review systematically evaluates these methods for Uzbekistan’s Amu Darya and Fergana basins. WAG is well‑suited to conventional waterflooded reservoirs; Huff‑and‑Puff fits tighter formations; hybrid methods require local validation. Major barriers remain—no CO₂ transport network, no legal pore‑space framework, and lacking rock‑fluid data. The paper provides a practical roadmap for pilots, policy, and research, helping Uzbekistan turn CO₂‑EOR into a realistic decarbonization tool.