Turkmenistan, Ashgabat, July 3 /Trend H.Hasanov/
Turkmenistan will sign a contract with Westport Trading Europe Limited (U.S.) for the construction of a factory for the production of bitumen, the official Turkmen source said on Tuesday. A decree is signed by President Gurbanguly Berdymuhamedov.
This project aims at improving the quality and increasing production of bitumen in accordance with the Development Programme of Oil and Gas Industry of Turkmenistan until 2030.
It is about designing and building of an adapted plant for the production of 37.2 thousand tons of bitumen per year from waste oil for operation at the refinery in the city of Sadie.
The construction should begin in June 2012 and commissioned in June 2014 in accordance with the document.
Turkmenistan is one of the largest suppliers of natural gas in the Caspian region. In recent years it has been actively working to build capacity of the processing industry, especially in the field of oil refining.
Products of two oil refineries in the cities of Turkmenbashi and Sadie, and a gas processing complex in the area of Naip are regularly seen at the State Commodity and Raw Materials Exchange of the country.
The Seidi plant is preparing for a large scale reconstruction. This venture will focus on the complex processing of oil, gas condensate and natural gas. It is planned to start production of polyethylene and polypropylene, the most valuable chemical feedstock as well as benzene, toluene, xylene and various petroleum products in addition to large scale production of road bitumen.
Turkmenistan plans to bring the power of oil refining up to 15 million tons per year in 2015, in 2020 - up to 20 million tons, in 2025 - up to 22 million tons, in 2030 - up to 30 million tons.
In accordance with the approved plans, it will be achieved through the construction of three new refineries and upgrading of existing plants.