Uzbekistan, Tashkent, Jan.30 /trend D.Azizov/
Uzbekistan plans to attract foreign loans totaling $126 million for projects to complex arrangement of gas fields in Kashkadarya in the south in 2012, a government source told Trend on Monday.
Loans will be spent on infrastructure for transporting gas transmission networks, particularly the booster compressor stations at three fields - Shurtan, Alan and Samantepe.
As previously reported, the president of Uzbekistan Islam Karimov adopted a resolution on accelerating the introducing of several investment projects in basic industries on October 2011.
Particularly, the implementation of projects worth $265.3 million in additional infrastructure development of Shurtan field with the construction of CS-2 should be reduced for two years - to 2013 from 2015, a project worth $178.34 million for additional infrastructure development at the Alan field for the year - to 2014 from 2015, a similar project worth $186 million on Samantepe field with CS extension on the south Urtabulak field for two years - to 2014 from 2016.
Additional infrastructure development at these deposits is carried out in order to fill the hydrocarbon resource base of the Republic and to increase exports. Experts of NHC Uzbekneftegaz estimate that the project will enable to increase the total production at these fields to four billion cubic meters of gas per year for 2015.
In addition to the foreign loans the project worth $630 million will be financed through the loans from the Fund for Reconstruction and Development in Uzbekistan amounted to $189.3 million and equity of the NHC Uzbekneftegaz amounted to $314.7 million.
NHC Uzbekneftegaz, monopoly operator of oil and gas industry in Uzbekistan, produced, proven reserves of hydrocarbons in Uzbekistan today is 2.517 million tons of oil equivalents, about 65 percent of which is natural gas reserves.
Some 232 hydrocarbon deposits were discovered in Uzbekistan at the beginning of 2011 including the 183 gas deposits. Some 103 discovered fields are under development, 60 - were prepared for development, 69 - are still explored.