Turkmenistan, Ashgabat, Sept. 14 / Trend H. Hasanov /
Japanese Corporation JGC is preparing a feasibility study of a new refinery, which will be built in the Caspian settlement Okarem in Balkan province, director general of the Turkmenbashi complex of oil refineries Tachberdi Tagiyev said at the Oil and Gas Conference in Ashgabat today.
International tender for the feasibility study was announced in April 2011. According to its terms, the enterprise's capacity must reach 3.0 million tons / year with an increase up to 5.0 million tons / year in the future.
According to the preliminary information, feasibility studies can be presented in early
2013. The construction operations will be launched after the general contractor and funding sources are chosen.
According to the official Turkmen source, the enterprise will produce high-octane petrol A-98, base oils of API 3, 4 and 5 groups for synthetic oils and synthetic detergents.
The current and perspective international standards for environmental protection and ecological safety will be taken into account within the feasibility study.
The plant will be provided with electricity at least from two independent sources of high reliability, having the ability to compensate for each other.
The plant is expected to be flexible enough to cope with changes in raw materials and fluctuations in requirements on certain petroleum products in accordance with changes in market conditions and consumer trends.
A national program of oil and gas industry development till 2030 is being implemented in the country.
The country annually produces about 10 million tons of oil, much of which is processed in local plants.