Tashkent, Uzbekistan, Dec.16
By Demir Azizov- Trend:
Uzbekistan hopes to attract the fourth participant in the project of a plant construction for the production of GTL synthetic liquid fuels in the first half of 2015, a source in the Uzbekneftegaz National Holding Company (NHC) told Trend Dec.16.
As reported earlier, 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 (Kashkadarya).
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.
In summer 2013, Sasol also announced its intention to reduce its share from 44.5 to 25.5 percent in the joint venture due to increased portfolio and significant investment in its projects in South Africa.
The government instructed the Uzbekneftegaz and JV Uzbekistan GTL to accelerate work to define the fourth participant of the project in order to mobilize additional financial resources for its implementation, as well as to complete the process of formation of an international banking consortium.
It is reported that the number of potential investors has been identified in early summer of 2014.
"However, in terms of the current situation with oil prices, which ties the implementation of the project, the issue of attracting additional investment is delayed," said the source.
The financing of plant`s construction will be implemented through the own funds of the joint venture founders (30 percent of the cost), as well as loans from a consortium of banks under the conditions of project financing (70 percent of the cost).
Uzbekistan started to form a banking consortium to finance plant construction GTL in September, 2013.
Earlier, it was expected that the construction worth $5.6 billion will start in autumn of 2014 and will be completed in early 2018.
In July 2013, Uzbekneftegaz started the construction of external infrastructure facilities of the plant.
It is planned that the plant will process 3.5 billion cubic meters of gas and produce 860,000 metric tons of diesel fuel, 360, 000 metric tons of jet fuel, 390, 000 metric tons of naphtha and 11, 000 metric tons of liquefied natural gas per year.
Hyundai Engineering & Construction (South Korea) with which a contract worth $2.33 billion was signed December 2013, will deal with the technological part of the plant, while Uzbekistan's Shurtan gas chemical complex will provide raw materials.
According to experts, GTL project will reduce Uzbekistan's dependence on imports of crude oil and will allow wider use of gas raw materials.
Uzbekistan holds third place among the CIS countries for the production of natural gas and is among the ten largest gas-producing countries in the world. Every year, the country produces more than 60 billion cubic meters of natural gas, about 25 percent of which is exported.
Edited by CN