Uzbekistan, Tashkent, May 14 / Trend D. Azizov /
Uzbekneftegaz National Holding Company (NHC) and Singapore's Indorama Group plan in the second half of 2012 to establish a joint venture (JV) to build a gas chemical complex (GCC) in Kashkadarya region (south of Uzbekistan), chairman of the board of Uzbekneftegaz Shokir Faizullayev told reporters on Monday.
He said a working group that develops the technology and strategy of the project's implementation has been formed.
"We expect preparation of the necessary documents and serious progress in project implementation in the remaining half of the year," he said.
As reported earlier, the project worth more than $2.5 billion provides for construction of a GCC with a capacity of 500,000 tons of polyethylene a year. The construction period is four years.
The project will be financed by Uzbekneftegaz, loans from the Uzbek Reconstruction and Development Fund, and investments by the Singaporean company.
In 2010, Uzbekneftegaz and Indorama signed a memorandum of cooperation, providing for technological and financial participation of Singapore company to establish production of diversified products (polymers and polyethylene) on the basis of the Mubarek Gas Processing Plant.
Mubarek Gas Processing Plant was commissioned in 1971. At present, its capacity is about 30 billion cubic meters of natural gas and production of more than 570,000 tons of gas condensate per year.
In 2001, Uzbekneftegaz put into operation Shurtan GCC on the basis of Shurtan gas-condensate field in Kashkadarya worth $985 million. The design capacity of the complex during processing 3.9 billion cubic meters of natural gas is 125,000 tons of polyethylene, 100,000 tons of liquefied gas and 100,000 tons of unstable condensate per year.
Currently, the Uzbekneftegaz together with a consortium of Korean companies led by Kogas implements a project for the construction of Ustyurt GCC on the basis of the Surgil field in the north-west of the country. Its capacity will allow to process four billion cubic meters of natural gas per year and produce 400,000 tons of polyethylene and 100,000 tons of polypropylene. Total project cost is $ 4.2 billion.