Page 17 - FSU OGM Week 26

FSUOGM PROJECTS & COMPANIES FSUOGM

Uzbekistan launches $300mn revamp

of Ferghana oil refinery

UZBEKISTAN A $300mn revamp project has started at Uzbek- to BP data. But the plants typically process much
istan’s aged Ferghana oil refinery that will bring less crude than this, with throughput amounting
Uzbekistan’s the quality of the fuels it produces up to Euro- to only 70,000 bpd last year.
refineries are current pean standards, the country’s energy ministry Part of the issue is that the refineries are out-
underutilised. recently reported. moded, with some of their equipment having
The project is being implemented by Jizzakh fallen into disrepair. The Ferghana plant, built in
Petroleum, a joint venture between Uzbekistan’s 1959, had been transferred on a trust basis last
national oil company (NOC) Uzbekneftegaz year to Uzbek businessman Azam Aslanov last
(UNG) and Gas Project Development Central year, who pledged to modernise the facility, but
Asia, an affiliate of Russia’s Gazprom. UNG this deal was cancelled.
transferred the plant to Jizzakh under a trust The Jizzakh Petroleum joint venture was orig-
management arrangement in March. inally set up to build a completely new $2bn oil
The modernisation programme will involve refinery in Uzbekistan’s Jizzakh region, but the
the construction of vacuum distillate hydroc- project was later abandoned. UNG said it wanted
racking, naphtha isomerisation and hydrogen to focus on modernising its existing plants in
production and hydrodesulphurisation units. Ferghana and Bukhara instead.
Existing units for fuel hydrodesulphurisation As a result of low levels of refining through-
will also be renovated, while catalytic reforming put, Uzbekistan relies heavily on fuel imports,
equipment and other systems will be replaced. most of which come from Russia. The country
The goal is to launch production of Euro-5 is eager to improve domestic refining to allevi-
standard AI-92 gasoline and diesel in July 2023. ate fuel shortages it often suffers during winter.
Uzbekistan hosts two main oil refineries in However, the inadequate state of Uzbekistan’s
Bukhara and Ferghana and a smaller plant in refineries is only one reason for its low fuel out-
Alty-Aryk that are capable of processing approx- put. Another is difficulties obtaining oil supplies
imately 232,000 barrels per day of oil, according to the double-landlocked country. ™

Oil gusher reported in western

Kazakhstan

KAZAKHSTAN KAZAKHSTAN’S national oil company by KMG or by Mangistaumunaigaz (MMG), its
KazMunayGas (KMG) has reported a gusher joint venture with Chinese operators CNPC and
New discoveries are oil discovery in the country’s western Mangistau PetroChina.
rarely reported in region. Bekturly East is operated by Bekturly Energy
Kazakhstan, whose The producer said on June 23 that a well at Operating, a 50:50 partnership between KMG
basins have been the Bekturly East block in the Karakiyansky dis- and a company called Kokel Munai. KMG
extensively explored trict of Mangistau had flowed at rates of up to noted that exploration costs were covered by its
and developed. 100 cubic metres (around 630 barrels) per day partner.
without being pumped. KMG is now undertak- “At present, a set of studies is ongoing with the
ing studies to evaluate the site’s potential. aim of obtaining additional information about
New oil discoveries are rarely reported in the properties of oil and gas on the horizon,”
Kazakhstan, whose basins have been extensively KMG said in its statement. It did not disclose an
explored and developed, first by Soviet geologists estimate for the discovery’s size, nor say whether
and later by international oil companies (IOCs) it was considered feasible to develop.
in the 1990s and early 2000s. Kazakh oil production is currently
The Mangistau region contains part of the restricted under the country’s commitments
Mangyshlak Basin. According to KMG, Bek- as a member of the OPEC+ producers’ alli-
turly East is in close proximity to other oil and ance. But despite the stated support for the
gas fields such as Uzen, Karamandybas, Bekturly, deal from the international consortia working
East Zhetybai and Aktas. These and most other in the Central Asian state, it has exceeded its
fields in Mangistau are either controlled solely supply quotas. ™

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