Uzbekistan, Tashkent, May 14 / Trend D.Azizov /
Construction of the unit for production of propane-butane mixture with design processing capacity of 12 billion cubic meters of natural gas per year at Mubarek Gas Processing Plant in Uzbekistan is completed, representative of the Ukrainian enterprise Sumy Frunze NPO, Leonid Naumov said during the Oil & Gas Uzbekistan 2013 international exhibition held in Tashkent.
According to him, the installation will start commercial operation by the end of June.
As previously reported, in November 2012, Uzbekistan put into operation the first stage of a propane-butane mixture at the Mubarek gas processing plant with design capacity of processing four billion cubic meters of natural gas a year. Projected production capacity of the plant is 258,000 tons of liquefied natural gas and 125,000 tons of gas condensate annually.
The construction of propane-butane mixture unit at the Mubarek gas processing plant worth $244 million envisaged the construction of a booster compressor station, gas dehydration unit and propane-butane mixture unit.
In 2008, the Swiss Zeromax GmbH won the tender for the construction of propane-butane mixture at the Mubarek gas processing plant. The contractor has started construction in September 2009, however the construction was halted in the zero cycle due to problems experienced by the Swiss company.
Initially, Zeromax concluded the contract for the supply of technological equipment with Ukrainian refinery named after Frunze.
In 2010 Zeromax ceased to exist, and therefore the oil refinery named after Frunze has signed a contract with a new customer - Mubarek Gas Processing Plant.
According to the contract, the Sumy enterprise produced general technological equipment for members of the propane-butane mixture compressor station, gas dehydration unit, and propane-butane mixture production facility as well as carried out contract supervision work and commissioning.
The project was financed through own funds of Uzbekneftegaz in the amount of $53.6 million, loan of the Fund for Reconstruction and Development of Uzbekistan - $55.4 million, a China Development Bank loan - $ 85 million and loans from local commercial banks for a total amount of $50 million.
Implementation of the project will double the production of liquefied gas and provide Uzbekistan with the opportunity to become one of liquefied gas suppliers.
Mubarek gas processing plant, a subsidiary of Uzneftegazdobycha JSC (a division of NHC Uzbekneftegaz), is the country's largest gas processing plant with design capacity of 30 billion cubic meters of gas per year. The company produces gas condensate, LPG and technical sulfur.
Uzbekistan ranks second among the CIS countries in terms of natural gas production and is among the ten largest gas-producing countries.
