Tashkent, Uzbekistan, Jan. 29
By Demir Azizov– Trend:
South Korean consortium led by the Hyundai Engineering & Construction company has started construction of the GTL (gas to liquids) plant worth $3.9 billion for the production of synthetic liquid fuels in the Qashqadaryo region (south of Uzbekistan), the website of the Uzbekistan GTL LLC, the operator of the project, said.
According to the company, the construction of the GTL plant in December 2016 was approved by a special resolution of the Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev. The feasibility study was approved and sources of funding identified according to the document.
Sasol Technology (Pty) Ltd is the licensor for the synthetic liquid fuels production technology (Sasol SPDTM process) within the framework of the project.
The project will be financed through the loans of international financial institutions and equity of the Uzbekneftegaz.
It is planned that the plant will process 3.5 billion cubic meters of gas and produce 864,000 tons of diesel fuel, 304,000 tons of jet fuel, 395,000 tons of naphtha and 11,200 tons of liquefied natural gas per year.
It was earlier reported that Uzbekneftegaz, South African Sasol Synfuels International (Pty) Ltd. and Malaysia’s Petronas International Corporation Ltd. (Petronas) signed founding documents in November 2009 on the establishment Uzbekistan GTL joint venture for the production of synthetic liquid fuels at the base of Shurtan MCC (Qashqadaryo region).
In 2011, the share of Malaysian companies in the joint venture, on the proposal of Petronas, was reduced to 11 percent, and the share of Sasol and Uzbekneftegaz increased by 44.5 percent. Then Uzbekneftegaz bought out the shares of the foreign co-founders of the joint venture and is currently the only shareholder of this joint venture.
The methane, which is supplied from the Shurtan Gas Chemical Complex in the volume of 3.5 billion cubic meters, will become the raw material for fuel production.
According to experts, GTL project will reduce Uzbekistan’s dependence on imports of crude oil and will allow wider use of gas raw materials.