Uzbekistan, Tashkent, May 22 / Trend D. Azizov /
Uzbekneftegaz and Singapore's Indorama Group have established the UzIndoramaGazChemical joint venture (JV) to build a gas chemical complex (GCC) on a parity basis, a governmental source told Trend on Tuesday.
As it was reported earlier, in 2010, Uzbekneftegaz and Indorama signed a memorandum of cooperation, providing for technological and financial participation of Singapore company to establish production of diversified products (polymers and polyethylene) on the basis of the Mubarek Gas Processing Plant.
As reported earlier, the project worth $2.5 billion envisages building the GCC with a capacity of 400,000 tons of polyethylene a year. The construction period is four years.
The project will be financed by Uzbekneftegaz, loans from the Uzbek Reconstruction and Development Fund, and investments by the Singaporean company Indorama.
The Mubarek Gas Processing Plant was commissioned in 1971. Today, its capacity is 30 billion cubic meters of natural gas.
In 2001, Uzbekneftegaz put into operation tje Shurtan GCC on the basis of the Shurtan gas-condensate field in Kashkadarya worth $985 million.
Its design capacity is 125,000 tons of polyethylene, 100,000 tons of liquefied gas and 100,000 tons of unstable condensate per year.
Uzbekneftegaz and a consortium of Korean companies led by Kogas are pushing a project to build the Ustyurt GCC on the basis of the Surgil field. Its capacity will allow it to process 4 billion cubic meters of natural gas per year and produce 400,000 tons of polyethylene and 100,000 tons of polypropylene. The cost is $4.2 billion.
The natural gas reserves in Uzbekistan amount to about 1.9 trillion cubic meters.
Uzbekistan is among the top 10 largest gas-producing countries in the world.