Uzbekistan, Tashkent, Nov. 2 /Trend D.Azizov /
Uzbekistan will research international experience in the industrial processing of oil shale, a source in government circles told Trend on Friday.
The agency's interlocutor reported that according to a government decree, a working group was established to research the experience in industrial processing of oil shale at foreign enterprises. The team includes specialists of the State Committee on Geology, Uzbekneftegaz, Uzbekenergo, the Ministry of Foreign Economic Relations, Investment and Trade (MFERIT) and relevant government agencies.
Previously Trend reported that, according to the Uzbekneftegaz National Holding Company (NHC), an enterprise for complex processing of oil shale into petroleum products based at the Sangruntau deposit in Navoi region (the central part of Uzbekistan) is planned to be established in following years.
According to Uzbekneftegaz, in 2010, Uzbekneftegaz NHC started to develop a pre-feasibility project for the construction of plant for the complex processing of oil shale based at the Sangruntau deposit by 2016.
Currently, the project is developed together with the Japanese JGS Corporation.
According to the preliminary parameters, the processing plant will produce up to one million tons of petroleum products per year.
Experts forecast reserves of oil shale in Uzbekistan which are located at a depth of 600 metres and amounting to 47 billion tons. In particular, reserves of the country's Boysun, Jam Urtabulak, Sangruntau, Aktau, Uchkyr, Kulbeshkak fields have been estimated. Along with hydrocarbon reserves, the fields include a wide range of non-ferrous and rare metals in significant quantities.
The output of the diesel fraction of tar shale at the Sangruntau deposit amounts to about 30 per cent which is the highest indicator among the major fields of this type in the country.
In June 2011, MFERIT, State Committee on Geology, Uzbekneftegaz NHC and Japan Oil, Gas & Metals National Corp. (JOGMEC) signed an agreement on issues of oil shale deposit development in Uzbekistan.
According to the agreement, JOGMEC has to conduct exploration work in the fields at Baysun Surkhandarya and Sangruntau in the Navoi region of Uzbekistan in order to confirm the results of previous geological studies.
After the exploration and evaluation of reserves, the Japanese side will decide on a further course of the project and the feasibility of establishing a joint venture for the production of shale.
In 2011, oil production decreased by 5.8 per cent in Uzbekistan, compared to 2010 - up to 1.889 million tons, gas condensate production fell by 9.8 per cent to 1.696 million tons and natural gas production declined by 4.4 per cent, to 63.04 billion cubic metres.