Ashgabat, Turkmenistan, July 2
By Vugar Imanov - Trend:
The opening of the world's first plant for the production of synthetic gasoline from natural gas on an industrial scale in the Ahal region of Turkmenistan will expand the country's export capacity, Yakshygeldi Kakayev, Adviser to the President of Turkmenistan on oil and gas, said at a briefing on the occasion of commissioning a new gas chemical complex, Trend correspondent reports on the spot.
"This ambitious project was implemented within the framework of the state program of socio-economic development, implementation of international projects, fundamental reconstruction of the fuel and energy complex of the country and production of advanced innovative technologies," he said.
“In the light of the diversification of the fuel and energy complex, Turkmenistan pays special attention to processing and gas engineering directions. Today, from an economic point of view, it is not the sale of natural gas as raw material, but the introduction of processing products to the international market," he added.
"Creation of such industries is an important direction for the further development of the economy of Turkmenistan, ensuring energy, environmental and technological security and diversification of markets for hydrocarbon resources," Kakaev said.
In his words, Turkmenistan cannot imagine ensuring its energy security without environmental issues, and the "green economy" is a priority in the project implementation. The plant in Ovadandepe in Ahal region is currently the only in the world that produces environmentally friendly synthetic gasoline from natural gas. Its characteristics show that Turkmen synthetic gasoline compares favorably with conventional gas derived from oil. There are no sulfur and nitrogen-containing organic compounds In the new product that are harmful to the environment.
The laying of the gas chemical complex in Ovadandepe took place on August 26, 2014, with the participation of President of Turkmenistan Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov. The plant was built in accordance with the agreement between the Turkmengas State Concern and the Japanese-Turkish consortium of companies Kawasaki Heavy Industries Ltd and Rönesans Endüstri Tesisleri Inşaat Sanaýi ve Ticaret A.Ş. The project cost is about $1.7 billion. The Bank of International Cooperation of Japan participated in financing the project. The complex is equipped with modern equipment and advanced technologies from leading manufacturers from the USA, Great Britain, France, the Netherlands, Sweden, Japan, Korea, India and other countries.
The GTG (Gas to gasoline) project based on the TIGAS technology of the Danish company Haldor Topsоe allows for producing high quality gasoline with minimal energy consumption and environmental impact. The plant, which employs about 800 people, will annually process 1.78 billion cubic meters of the “blue fuel” into 600,000 tons of gasoline of the brand ECO-93, 12,000 tons of refined diesel fuel and 115,000 tons of liquefied gas. The cost of a liter of petrol is 2 Turkmen manat (about 60 cents).
($1 = 3.51 TMM on July 2)