BAKU, Azerbaijan, July 1. Uzbekistan may reduce the import of petrochemicals this year after the start of synthetic fuel shipments from the Uzbekistan GTL plant, Trend reports via the Argus Media review.
According to the market participants, the delivery of the first batches of diesel and jet fuels to the domestic market is scheduled for June-July, and the plant can ship volumes of naphtha for export.
Uzbekistan GTL plans to produce 437,000 tons of naphtha, 307,000 tons of jet fuel, 724,000 tons of diesel fuel and 53,000 tons of liquefied gas per year.
"Priority will be given to meeting demand in the domestic market. During the first three months of operation, the complex will reach 15 percent of its design capacity, and over the course of the year it will be phased out to 100 percent,” the review said. “Diesel fuel, naphtha and liquefied gas from the plant are scheduled to be shipped at the end of June or early July. The first batch of jet fuel will be shipped to the Bukhara Oil Refinery in the coming months to obtain permits.”
The entire volume of synthetic jet fuel is expected to be shipped from the Uzbekistan GTL plant, certified according to the Jet A-1 standard, to the Bukhara refinery. At this plant, the product is planned to be mixed with petroleum-derived jet fuel and sold to local consumers.
"According to international standards, when refueling an aircraft, no more than 50 percent of synthetic jet fuel is allowed in the total volume of fuel," a representative of the plant, whose words are quoted in the review, noted.
Uzbekistan GTL, owned by the state oil holding Uzbekneftegaz, launched a plant for the production of synthetic fuel from natural gas in the Kashkadarya region (southwestern Uzbekistan) in December last year.