Uzbekistan, Tashkent, Nov 26 /Trend D.Azizov/
Uzbekistan has put into operation the first stage of a propane-butane mixture at the Mubarek gas processing plant with design capacity of processing four billion cubic meters of natural gas a year, the National Holding Company (NHC) Uzbekneftegaz told Trend on Monday.
The completion of construction of the entire system consisting of three production lines with a total design capacity of processing 12 billion cubic meters of gas per year, scheduled for mid-2013, Uzbekneftegaz said.
As previously reported, the construction of propane-butane mixture at the Mubarek gas processing plant worth $244 billion envisages the construction of a booster compressor station, gas dehydration unit and directly install propane-butane mixture.
Projected production capacity of the plant is 258 thousand tons of liquefied natural gas and 125 thousand tons of gas condensate annually.
The project is financed through own funds of Uzbekneftegaz in the amount of $53.6 million, loan of the Fund for Reconstruction and Development of Uzbekistan - 55.4 million, the China Development Bank loan - $ 85 million and loans from local commercial banks for a total amount of $50 million.
Previously, it was reported, in 2008, that Uzbekneftegaz refused to participate in the project of Russian Stroytransgaz JSC which won the tender in 2004.
In 2008, the Swiss Zeromax GmbH won the tender for the construction of propane-butane mixture at the Mubarek gas processing plant. The contractor has started construction in September 2009, however the construction was halted in the zero cycle due to problems of the Swiss company.
Initially, Zeromax concluded the contract for the supply of technological equipment with Ukrainian refinery named after Frunze.
In 2010 Zeromax ceased to exist, and therefore the oil refinery named after Frunze has signed a contract with a new customer - Mubarek Gas Processing Plant.
According to the contract, the Sum entity has to produce general technological equipment for members of the propane-butane mixture compressor station, gas dehydration unit, and actually install propane-butane mixture production facility, and also to carry out contract supervision work and commissioning.
Project on construction of propane-butane mixture at Mubarek GPP is in the list of strategically important objects and is under the control of the government. After the installation will reach its full capacity, some 12 billion cubic meters of natural gas will be processed and up to 258.000 tons of liquefied natural gas and up to 125.000 tons of gas condensate will be produced at the plant. More than 80 percent of the production will be exported.
Implementation of the project will double the production of liquefied gas and Uzbekistan and provide the opportunity to become one of liquefied gas suppliers.
Mubarek gas processing plant, a subsidiary of JSC Uzneftegazdobycha (a division of NHC Uzbekneftegaz) - the country's largest gas processing plant design capacity of 30 billion cubic meters of gas a year. The company produces gas condensate, LPG and technical sulfur.
Uzbekistan for natural gas is second among CIS countries and is among the ten largest gas-producing countries.