Tashkent, Uzbekistan, June 21
By Demir Azizov- Trend:
The Uzbek government continues to negotiate with the China National Petroleum Corporation over its joining the construction project of the gas-chemical complex in the country.
The construction is planned on the basis of the Mubarek gas refinery (Kashkadarya region, south of Uzbekistan) with the preliminary cost of $2.5 billion, the representative of the "Uzbekneftegaz" National Holding Company told Trend.
Earlier, some media reported that the Chinese company has refused to participate in the project.
The CNPC signed a memorandum with the "Uzbekneftegaz" NHC and Singapore's Indorama Group on the possibility of joining the UzIndoramaGazChemical joint venture on the construction of the gas chemical complex at the Mubarek gas refinery in Uzbekistan last September.
It was assumed that, after the Chinese company`s entrerence the joint venture, the share participation of the partners will be distributed on a parity basis - 33.3 percent.
At the present moment, the CNPC has prepared its own version of the preliminary feasibility study of the gas chemical complex, the source said. It is expected that the Chinese company will present the feasibility study on the joint venture for discussion and agreement in the near future.
As reported, in May 2012, "Uzbekneftegaz" and Indorama created on a parity basis the "UzIndoramaGazChemical" joint venture for the construction of the gas chemical complex on the basis of the Mubarek gas refinery.The project on the construction of a gas chemical complex with initial cost of $2.5 billion envisages the creation of a facility with production design capacity of about 500,000 tonnes of polyethylene per year.
The project will be financed at the expense of the funds of the joint venture's founders and loans of international financial institutions.
Mubarek is the largest gas processing plant in Uzbekistan with design capacity of processing 30 billion cubic meters of gas per year.
The facility produces gas condensate, liquefied gas and technical sulfur.
In recent years Uzbekistan has pursued the course of deep processing of liquefied hydrocarbons and natural gas.
In 2001, "Uzbekneftegaz" commissioned the Shurtan gas-chemical complex on the basis of the Shurtan gas-condensate field on the production of polyethylene.
The design capacity of the enterprise considers processing of 3.9 billion cubic meters of natural gas and production of 125,000 tonnes of polyethylene.
"Uzbekneftegaz" and a consortium of Korean companies are implementing a project to contruct the Ustyurt gas-chemical complex on the basis of the Surgil field. Its capacity will allow processing 4 billion cubic meters of natural gas per year and produce 400,000 tonnes of polyethylene and 100,000 tons of polypropylene. The total cost of the project is $4.2 billion.
Uzbekistan is among the top 10 largest gas-producing countries in the world with natural gas reserves about 1.9 trillion cubic meters.
